


Worth It All

by angeldrkfire



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-16 06:13:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 79,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11822874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angeldrkfire/pseuds/angeldrkfire
Summary: This is an ongoing role play between myself and my friend Doug. We started it in January 2017 and have finally decided to archive it. We began just after episode 7 with writing things that we believed went on outside of the show. We have continued it past the series with our own head canons and ideas.While we have ideas for the future, we don't foresee an exact ending that we are working towards. We hope that those who read this enjoy our take on these characters and the direction we take them in.





	1. Chapter 1: After the Cup of China/First Date

Chapter 1  
After the Cup of China/First Date

Victor couldn't stop touching Yuuri.  They were just coming home from the Awards Ceremony of the China up, from which Yuuri had won Silver - which admittedly wasn't as good as Gold, but it would do for now.  More importantly, Yuuri had proven that he could do the quad flip.  He may have messed up the landing a little, but he'd proven that he could DO it.  Now it was just practice and refining.  All which Victor was sure he could easily instruct Yuuri on in the week and a half before they had to leave Japan again for the Rostelecom cup in Moscow.  That was plenty of time!

Pride just swelled up for his little Japanese piggy, and without even thinking about it, his hands had found their way to Yuuri's shoulders, or patting him on the back, or rubbing small circles on his back.  He didn't mean to keep touching Yuuri, or to keep clinging onto him, but it kept happening.

Yes.  That was pride that was swelling up.  Absolutely pride.  As a coach.  For his skater.  And that unrelenting sense of joy was for their victory - for Yuuri's Victory.

And... now that the clamor of reporters, and fans, and other coaches and skaters were gone, sealed off solidly by the elevator doors, Victor noticed the silence between him and Yuuri for the first time as the little box they were in began its ascent to their floor.  His arm had fallen around Yuuri's shoulders, holding him to his side as proudly as he'd ever held one of his own trophies.

Yuri had stiffened slightly as Victor’s hands found their way to his back and shoulders, but quickly relaxed. He was getting used to how touchy feely Victor was, but it still caught him off guard every now and then. This time it was because his mind was racing a million miles a minute. The kiss, the crying, the kiss, the quad flip, the kiss, the silver medal, the freaking kiss! He was sure his face was going to become permanently beat red from all the blushing he was doing. He couldn’t believe it had happened and yet… At least 75% of the smiling he had been doing since the end of the competition was due to Victor’s actions and not the lump of silver hanging around his neck.

As Victor’s arm came around him, he made a small sigh of content, leaning into the taller man. He could practically feel the pride radiating from him. He looked up at his coach, mentally cursing as he felt his cheeks burn again. Why did he have to get so flustered around him? He is only Victor…. His coach… His idol… 5-time world champion…. Living leg- Oh right… that’s why. He cleared his throat softly. “So, that was a thing.” He meant the competition. He really did… maybe.

"Hm?" Victor intoned softy, as if his mind hadn't been full of Yuuri the moment the other man had leaned up against him, as if it wasn't still full of Yuuri. Actually - that was exactly the problem.   There were just so many thoughts of the younger man swirling around in his head it was hard to know where to start.  Thoughts of last year, thoughts of just now, thoughts of what to do in the future, all swirling around together in a storm of Yuuri upon Victor's mind that it took him a second register what Yuuri had actually said.  "Oh!  Yes! It was, little piggy~” He exclaimed, beaming down in Sheer delight.

And just like that his hands were on Yuuri again, abandoning their safe spot on Yuri's shoulders - where he pretty much knew by now he wouldn't be revoked, and sliding over other familiar yet forbidden territories.  One hand softly fell to Yuuri's hip, turning him so that they could embrace as he himself leaned back against the handrail on the elevator's interior.  The other rose up to lift Yuri's chin up to his so that he could get a good look at the adorable hue his cheeks took.  "You were amazing, Yuuri."   He whispered.  "Now I just have to figure out how to get you to skate like that Every time..."  He mused out loud, his lips barely an inch away from Yuuri's.  What would his little piggy do this time?  He wondered, he was so close to turning into a prince already.

As Victor’s hands found their new home on Yuuri’s hips, he made every effort not to squeak. He guessed he could thank Chris for not being too terribly surprised at the feeling. Turning into the embrace, he allowed his chin to be lifted, eyes widening slightly as he looked into those beautiful blue eyes. He could easily get lost in them. The fact that their lips were mere inches from each other registered. Should he step back? Did he really want to? He could feel his heart thumping in his ears. It almost drowned out what Victor was saying.

“Um… well I guess we could fight in the parking garage before every competition...”

...  Well that certainly  hadn't been any of the reaction's Victor had been expecting...    Luckily, the elevator door binged at that exact moment, saving Victor from his own light fluster, as he himself skipped to the side, and pulled away just in time for the door to slide open on their floor.  "Oh no.  That is absolutely out of the question!"

Even as he skirted away, his hands just couldn't stop touching Yuuri.  Naturally, even as he pulled away from the other man's hip, he reached out to take his skater's hand before storming down the hallway to their room.

"Aside from never, ever wanting to be the reason you cry ever again -  I'm pretty sure you'd start to see through me if I started leading you off just before every competition."

He couldn’t help but laugh a little at the reaction. It made Yuuri feel great that he can surprise Victor just as much as the man surprised him. He squeezed the hand gently as he followed him down the hall. His blush returning slightly at the thought of Victor never wanting to make him cry.

“You’d be surprised just how much of a common-sense blocker anxiety can be. You never cease to surprise me anyway so…” He shook his head, taking his room key out of his jacket pocket as they reached their room.

"...So?" Victor asked, encouraging more of a response from Yuuri.  But they were at their room, and Victor desperately wanted to be inside.  His thumb idly brushed over Yuri's palm as he waited to be allowed access, allowed privacy.

"Besides. You're really the one who surprised me today, Yuuri.  The only thing I could think of was bad ideas and a kiss."  ... which, seemed awfully telegraphed now that he thought about it...  How many times had he mentioned kissing Yuuri - to Yuuri? three times?  Was it four?  Certainly, plenty of times it had been in jest but, just as many times it hadn't...  It had been on his mind so much, so clearly something he'd wanted to do, that even before the skate he'd offered...

...did Yuuri even want to kiss him?

He still kept Yuuri's hand tight in his, but he was getting quiet now, watching Yuuri, looking into his eyes to see if he could find the answer...

Dear GOD he wanted to be on the inside of that door already.

Yuuri shivered slightly as he felt Victor’s thumb rubbing against his palm. He fumbled with getting his key to work, mind racing. He pushed the door open, breaking his gaze with Victor. “The only thing was pretty perfect though…” His voice was soft, desperately trying not to lose his nerve.

He gently tugged Victor into their room, wanting to block out the rest of world for a little bit. The skaters, the fans, the press… it had almost become overwhelming, but now… now he wanted it to be just the two of them. Once they were inside, he turned towards Victor, swallowing his nerves and stepping close, wrapping his arms around him. “You’ve always talked about kissing me, and I always wondered just how serious you were. But after today…” He looked into those beautiful blue eyes. Victor had surprised him by taking that step. It was Yuuri’s turn. He shut down the part of his brain screaming all of his insecurities at him. The ‘what ifs’ getting muffled. He had to take this risk. He had to know for sure. Without further thought, he leaned upwards and softly pressed his lips to his coach’s.

"Yuuri..." Victor breathed out his name reverently.  Once again Yuuri had him guessing.  Yuuri was pulling him inside now? Yuuri was wrapping his arms around him now?  What was this? It was like they were always dancing, alternating and shifting who was leading who.  Maybe that's exactly what Victor liked about it so much, and why this dime a dozen Japanese figure skater was able to captivate him so readily. And now, just as Victor had been about resolve himself.

His eyes had first been wide as Yuuri pulled him inside, but his gaze softened as he listened.  His body again reacted before he himself even realized what was happening.  He was already leaning down, Yuuri's name on his lips, his eyes fluttering closed as he realized... ...Yuuri was kissing him.

...Yuuri was kissing him!

Victor threw his arms back around Yuuri's shoulder, meeting the embrace and pressing his lips, his body back against him.

brain was short circuiting. Had he really done it? Was he actually kissing Victor? What if he didn’t like-Oh… oh he was kissing him back! That shut his brain up. He melted into the Russian he was holding, arms tightening ever so slightly. God this felt amazing. Victor was amazing.

He hummed softly into the kiss, pressing as close as could. This felt so much better than being in midair as they fell to the ice. Though he wouldn’t have traded that moment for the world. He broke the kiss, needing some air, but he didn’t move even an inch away. “Victor…” he breathed.

"Yuuri..." the Russian responded in kind, catching his breath quickly and leaping into action.  He pressed himself against the other man harder, taking his lips once more, deeply - passionately.  If there was any part of Yuuri that still thought Victor had doubts about his place here, Victor wanted to quell that right now.   As he licked at Yuuri's lips, and caressed his cheek, his free hand was already getting to work, trying to shed both of them of their outer layers, tugging at Yuri's scarf, casting his own off with barely a thought about where it fell.  He just wanted to get closer to the other man, and these excessive winter layers were just getting in the way.

 “Mmmm…” He tilted his head into his touch. Through the haze of lust, he could tell Victor was making quick work of his outer layers. He blindly tried to help, eager to hold onto this wonderful man without annoying fabrics getting in the way. As he felt his tongue licking at his lips, Yuuri shivered, gripping the man closer. He carefully took Victor’s lower lip between his teeth, sucking on it gently.

Yes, it was Pride that was swelling... ... definitely Pride, and... not anything else, for his Skater, for his "...Yuuri" he murmured out loud again - just saying the name now, for the sake of saying it, for the love of the way the sound fell from his lips; not caring that saying it slowly withdrew his bottom lip from between Yuuri's teeth, which itself elicited a soft moan from the tall pale Russian.

"I love you, Yuuri..."  Was the next confession that fell from Victor's lips.  His knees were feeling weak from the way Yuuri was taking charge, from the way Yuuri didn't seem to want to give him any edge.  His fingers were running through Yuuri's hair, feeling how coarse the texture was compared to his own, how thick it was, and how it crinkled from product and sweat between his fingers.  He breathed in deeply, taking in Yuuri's scent as he left his lips opened, poised and ready for Yuri to take what he wanted once more.

He blinked in surprise at the confession, his cheeks burning as he blushed. If he really thought about it, he wasn’t all that surprised to hear Victor say he loved him, but still… He couldn’t deny that he absolutely loved the sound of it. He smiled softly. “I love you too, Victor.” He tilted his head into his touch, loving the feel of his fingers in his hair. He ran his hands along Victor’s back, pressing close, his pants suddenly way too tight for his liking. “I, uh… you know I’m really inexperienced when it comes to anything like this.” He leaned up, placing a soft kiss on Victor’s jaw. “I figured channeling ‘Eros’ would be a good start though.” He smiled, somewhat shyly.

You know I've a soft spot, for your 'Eros', don't you?"  Victor replied back, bowing his head down.  If Yuuri was going to expose his neck like that, Victor certainly was going to take advantage.  While Yuuri leaned back into Victor's touch, the crafty Russian leaned forward, giving soft nips and licks along Yuuri's jawline.  Where was his little piggy's weak spot?  Was it along his jugular?  His Adam’s apple?  Victor didn't know, but he wanted to find out.

But was it really going to be this easy?  After months of rejecting him, was Yuuri really going to accept him now?  It was almost too much to fathom.  And so Victor did what he always did when things seemed to be slipping too far out of his control, he began to slink away.  Slinking this time deeper into the hotel room as he finally pried himself away From Yuuri's embrace.

"Tonight, we should Celebrate!"  He said happily.  Yes, there was lots of work to do still and they had a flight to catch in the morning. but for tonight...  just for tonight...  "I know."  He said, stripping off his suit jacket with significantly more care than he'd discarded his over coat.  "We should take a bath together, Yuuri."

Yuuri managed to suppress a whimper as Victor kissed and licked along his jaw. He knew he was close to his weak spot but he wasn’t going to give it away that easily. He nodded in reply to his question. Of course, he knew. Why else would Victor ask him to seduce him every time he performed the routine?

As Victor moved away, Yuuri blinked, his mind catching up to what he was saying. “Wha…?” He shook his head. “You want to celebrate… by taking a bath?” He tilted his head in confusion. This was certainly not the direction he expected things to head. Although a warm bath sounded like heaven. He was suddenly aware of how tired his muscles were from the competition.

He shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, sure. I bath sounds nice.” It wasn’t like they hadn’t bathed together before at home. “Though I doubt it will be as roomy as the hot springs back home.”

“Ah, isn't that the point?"  Victor asked, letting a slight flush creep up on his cheeks, even as he took off his shirt....  but it was already too much time spent separated from Yuuri.  Bare chested Victor threw himself back onto Yuuri, wrapping his arms around the smaller Asian man. "We can open a bottle of champagne while we soak and order room service in!"  Victor cheered, all while nuzzling Yuuri.  The underside of his jaw hm?  Was that his weak spot?  or was he just getting close?  He managed to trail a line of kisses along Yuuri's jaw up to his ear, where he would softly nibble on his lobe, provided Yuuri didn't throw him off.

But then came the harder confession.   The deeper confession.  "I mostly, Just want to hold you, Yuuri..."  Mostly...

"But if you have a better idea on how you want to celebrate your win I'm all ears.  We can't make it too extravagant, since it was only a silver, you know."

The flush that appeared on Victor’s face was… adorable. It was rare that Yuuri could elicit that kinda of reaction from him. And…. His own blush was back as Victor removed his shirt and pulling him close. Before Yuuri could respond to his suggestion, Victor was nuzzling and kissing his jawline. The second his lips found his earlobe, Yuuri thought he was going to lose it. His knees went weak and his gripped Victor’s arms, biting back a moan. There it was. There was his weak spot.

He sucked in a breath, but focused on his words. He couldn’t help but smile brightly as he spoke. And then he finished speaking and Yuuri felt like cold water had been dumped over his head. He pushed him back, glaring. “Right… how about you order dinner, -I’m- going to go take a shower solo.”

"Hm?"  Victor blinked.  What had he done now?  He could feel Yuuri's mood completely shift, but for the life of him, Victor wasn't sure why.

But... pushed away like that, Viktor wasn't going to push Yuuri too hard.  He let out a defeated sigh.  "Alright, but take a bath not a shower.  The warm water will be better on your muscles."  He instructed as he plopped down on the foot of one of the two beds in the room.

: Yuuri nodded and headed for the bathroom. He felt cold now. With a heavy sigh turned on the water and allowed the tub to fill up, stripping off his clothes. While he really wasn't upset with Victor, the comment about not being able to do anything 'extravagant' because of him not winning gold stung a little. Guess he could afford to say that since he had won so many. Yuuri on the other hand.... a medal was pretty impressive for him.

He looked at himself in the mirror, taking note of how different his body looked now compared to his failure last December. He had definitely slimmed down a bit and it was mostly thanks to Victor. He pushed him when he needed to be pushed and then some. He made him better and not just on the ice. Rubbing his arms, he debated. He really wanted to not be alone right now but he couldn't go back on what he said.

He decided. Poking his head out of the bathroom, he spotted Victor. "Hey Victor? I know what I want to do to celebrate. Can we... watch a movie together when I get out?"

When he poked his head out, Victor was on the phone, placing the order for their dinner.  With the phone still to his ear he cocked his head toward Yuuri, listening to him in full.  And when he heard the other man's suggestion, a broad smile stretched out across his face, as that joyful beam returned.

Giving a quick nod, he answered.  "That sounds Amazing!  Do you want to rent it for here in the room?  Or do you want to go out?"  Already so excited by the prospect he turned to start asking the person on the other end of the phone with him - who clearly shared none of the common languages Victor spoke as he began asking the room service clerk about Movie theaters there in Beijing.

And there was the smile that made him melt. He smiled, listening to him ask about movie theaters in area. Once there was a lull he spoke softly. "I'm good with either. Check out movies we can rent and what is playing. I trust your judgement." He quickly popped back in the bathroom. The water was at the right level so he slid into the tub, his whole body seeming to sigh as the warm water worked its magic.

Judgement was hard.  And honestly, not really one of Victor's strongest points.  He had to think carefully about this.  What was better for Yuuri?  On the one hand, if they rented a movie through the hotel and stayed in, it would be easy to do.  They wouldn't have to worry about going out, getting lost in the busy city streets.  They could just be alone together, and snuggle on the bed while their movie played.  He could hold Yuuri just the way he wanted to... but it was his comment before that seemed to hurt Yuuri.  Maybe it had been a mistake to suggest that the amazing performance was anything less than phenomenal.  Maybe Yuri deserved to feel like Victor was pampering him just a little.  And besides - it would be kind of like a date, wouldn't it?  That thought alone was pretty exciting...

So which was he to choose?  Which one would be better for Yuuri?  Thinking back on it himself, on what he would have done, even just a year ago, had it been himself, celebrating an outstanding performance, beating a personal best.  How would he have celebrated it last year... ... when he was alone.

Suddenly it all became clear what they should do, and he was back on the phone - speaking to one of the Russian speaking concierge as he settled out the details for the date.

The water became cooler, and Yuuri decided it was time to get out. He stepped out of the tub, shivering a little as he reached for the white fluffy towels. After drying off mostly, he grabbed one of the white robes the provided and slipped into it. It was soft and warm. Once the belt was secure, he stepped out of the bathroom, towel drying his hair.

He smiled at Victor. “Hey, so what did you decide? Are we going out or staying in?” He was excited about spending time with the man outside of skating.

the time Yuuri emerged from the bath, Victor was already fully dressed in more casual clothes. a loose-fitting button down shirt and sweater, and corduroys; his suit was neatly hung up - and the outer layers they had so haphazardly discarded before were laid out neatly on the bed, ready to be used again.

Just now hanging up the phone, Victor opened his arms wide as he exclaimed proudly.  "We're going out!"

"I've got us tickets waiting at the front desk, and a taxi coming to pick us up in twenty minutes.  It will be pretty late afterward, so dinner will be waiting for us here when we get back!"  He proclaimed, letting one hand rest on his hip, while the other hand talked loudly as he explained the plans for the night.

Yuuri smiled brightly. "Sounds great!" He chuckled as he grabbed some clothes. "I'm impressed you got all of that planned while I was in there. So efficient." He walked over, placing a hand over the one Victor had on his hip. He reached up and kissed his cheek.

At that moment, Victor could have melted.  His free hand found a home on the small of Yuuri's back as he pulled the other closer for an embrace.  "I told you, I wanted to celebrate, didn't I?"

He smiled as he leaned into him, arms wrapping around his middle. "That you did. And there isn't anyone else I'd rather celebrate with." He could feel a blush creeping onto his cheeks again. God, when did he get so sappy.

Yuuri reluctantly pulled away after giving Victor a gentle squeeze. "If I don't get dressed now, we will miss our taxi."

"Mm!"  Victor agreed, releasing the other to do what he needed to get dressed.   He sat down on the inside of one of the beds, and took a breath.  They had a few minutes before the taxi arrived.

Yuuri seemed like he was in a better mood now.  Should he apologize now for what he said before?  Or was it better to leave let it lie?  Victor idly touched his own lips as he thought about it.  The truth was, that things had been getting pretty hot and heavy between them, and it was easy to see where they were going.  And, while they were going in a direction Victor definitely wanted, he just... wasn't so sure he was ready just yet.  That was, something completely embarrassing to admit to someone younger than him, shorter than him, less experienced than him.  But the way things were going... He mused as he watched Yuuri get dressed, a crimson fluster across his own cheeks.  He absolutely was had been the one about to submit to the whims of the other.  And damn, wasn't the sight of Yuuri getting dressed just as beautiful as the sight of him getting undressed?

Yuuri knew he had eyes on him as he got dressed. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, moving a little more sensual as he put his shirt on. He was glad that they were going out. He did feel bad for putting a stop to what they were doing earlier, but honestly… he knew where they were headed and it just wasn’t sure he was ready. Not just yet. But a date… he smiled softly. He was ready for that.

He wasn’t upset about what Victor had said. He really wasn’t. He was right. He hadn’t won gold and he shouldn’t be rewarded like he had. And that… lit a fire in him. They had the Rostelecom Cup and the Grand Prix left. He would win gold at one or both and he would earn that kind of celebration.

He turned back to the Russian man on the bed, smiling brightly. “Shall we?”

This strip tease in reverse was nearly too much.  He grinned broadly at Yuuri, and jumped up when the other man suggested they go.  "Let’s go!"  He cheered as he stood up.

"I hope you don't mind the movie I picked."  He started idly chatting as he gathered up their jackets and scarves.  He passed Yuuri his coat and scarf as he started to head to the door, still talking.  "When I told the front desk I was looking for a movie, they pretty much insisted on this one.  Apparently, it's the highest Grossing movie China has ever produced, and since we're here I figured it be a shame if we didn't see it - and I even managed to find a theatre that's showing it with English subtitles.  I hope that will be alright.  I figured it would be better since I don't know if you speak Mandarin, but I know I certainly don't!"  He laughed.

Yuuri watched as the man spoke. He was almost.... babbling. It was adorable. He took his scarf and coat, adding the layers as they headed to the door. He chuckled once he finished. "No, I do not speak Mandarin so English subtitles are perfect."

He subconsciously took Victor's hand as they headed out. "I think it sounds like fun. It must be pretty good if it's the highest grossing movie China has produced. It will definitely be an experience regardless."

Quietly, Victor checked his coat pocket to make sure he still had his hotel key and his wallet before he let the hotel door close behind him.  He almost didn't notice it himself when Yuuri took his other hand, instinctively also intertwining his fingers with the other man's right off.  Which wasn't to say he hadn't noticed by the time they started off back down the hallway again.

"It's supposed to be a romantic comedy, I think. Which a little strange I think, I always thought China was famous for Action movies - you know, with the Kung Fu."  He mused as they walked.  He might have been babbling, maybe just a little.

But it was hard not to be excited!  There they were, going out on their impromptu date, after what had already been such an amazing day.  Yuuri was holding his hand.  And actually, Victor hadn't really seen that many movies, even less in the theatre.  The whole prospect of the experience was exciting.  And he was going to get to share it all with Yuuri.

There were so many new things when he was with Yuuri.  So much was so special, even old things felt new and /better/ with him by his side like this.

He laughed a little. "Well, that may be why it did so well. It was new and different from all of the action movies.” The idea that they were going to see a movie about romance was kinda funny. He couldn’t help but bounce a little as they made their way to the lobby. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a competition more than I did today. Even with the anxiety before…” He looked up at Victor, smiling brightly. “Thank you so much, Victor.”

Victors eyes lit up, sparkling down at his skater.  "What are you thanking me for? You were the one who was amazing.  Everybody loved watching you because it was obvious you loved what you were doing."

Back on the elevator again, going down to the lobby.

By now most of the crowd from the competition had cleared out.  The people with flights that night was already gone, the reporters and fans had cleared out.  Even the other skaters and their teams were either already in for the night or already out to eat.

He touched his forehead to Yuuri's, still grinning like the fool he was.  "And now that I know you can do the quad flip, we have so much to work on before Rostelecom.  We're going to surprise them all, Yuri, every single person watching."  Victor reached out, and caressed his cheek, idly letting the touch continue as it followed down the back of his neck along his arm, until that same hand took Yuri's hand in his.

He couldn't help but shiver as he felt Victor's hand rub along his neck and down his arm. He held his hand tight as they met, looking into his eyes.

"I'm thanking you because I couldn't have even had the courage to attempt a quad flip if it wasn't for you..." He chuckled. "Guess I get my need to surprise people from you."

He leaned against his forehead, smiling softly. "Good thing the press are gone or they would have a field day with you, you know that?"

The door binged softy, and the doors opened.  Victor released one of Yuri's hands, but held onto the other as he strolled back out into the lobby.  "With me?  I don't think so.  I've never really had much of a problem with the press.  And this is your day, Yuri.  The best I can do is try to shield you from it a little bit."

He walked straight to the concierge counter, and leaned in.  Giving his name to the clerk, it was just a second or two later and he had the tickets in hand.

Yuuri hung back as Victor went to the front desk. He glanced around the lobby, taking in the sight of the people milling about. Despite all of the competitions he had been in, Yuuri rarely took in the sights. He was always terrified about competing when he got there and then ready to get out as quick as possible afterwards. He looked back at Victor and smiled. Guess things can really change when and introvert and extrovert partner up.

"Yuuri!  I got the tickets!"  Victor said proudly, waving the tickets over his head as he trotted back toward Yuuri's side.   "Has the taxi showed up yet?"  he asked, casting his best glance out the hotel's wall of front doors, but not really able to see anything discernable.

"Uhh... maybe?" He walked over to the front doors. Glancing out, he saw a cab pull up, the driver getting out to wait by the car. "That might be it." He pointed to the cabbie then held his hand out. "Shall we?"

My pleasure~” Victor cooed in English, as he took Yuuri's outstretched hand.   Outside, Victor confirmed with the cabbie that he was, infact - there for the two of them, and that he was taking them to the correct movie theatre.  He hopped in the car with Yuuri, laughing a bit as he exclaimed, "It's actually a lot nicer than I was expecting it to be!"

Yuuri scooted in the back, leaning into his side. "Oh yeah? What exactly were you expecting? A beat up pickup truck?" He grinned.

"Maybe not a pickup truck, but something along those lines.  Look at how much leg room we have!"  he exclaimed stretching out his legs in demonstration.  The cab had clearly been built with backseat passengers in mind.  A small screen was affixed where the arm rest usually was, showing the two their rate and where they were presently on the map and in route, with a credit card reader.

Yuuri smiled, burying his face in Victor's shoulder. His shoulders shook a little as he laughed. God Victor could be so cute at times and drop dead sexy at others. Humming contently, he glanced at the screen. "This is a pretty nice cab."

Victor was on cloud, what was this?  9?  11?  It was pretty high up was the point.  Even through his coat he could feel the warmth of Yuuri's head on his shoulder, could feel him holding onto his arm as they were taxied through the streets of Beijing.  "I know, right?  And here I thought you had to order limos to get them like this."

He tilted his head to the side, resting his cheek on Yuuri's head as he looked out the window, watching the lights of Beijing at night speed by.

He was so relaxed likes this. Like, unbelievably relaxed. He sighed contently as he looked out the window, the lights of the city passing by them. "The city is really pretty... Maybe we can come back some time and actually see it."

"Fifty fifty chance we'll be back next year.  We should come back early and go sightseeing."  He mussed idly.  When had he put his hand on Yuuri's knee?  Was it when they first got in?  was it while they were talking?  He couldn't remember.  He rubbed his thumb in small slow circles on Yuuri's knee.

"I would definitely agree to that, but I guess it would also depend on how prepared we are for the competition." Huh, that surprised him. Not only was he making plans for next year with Victor, but under the assumption he would still be skating. If he was honest, he didn't mind the thought of continuing after this year. Not if Victor was with him. But... what about his own career? Would he really want to continue coaching? This was only supposed to last through the Grand Prix, right? That train of thought definitely made his heart hurt. Would Victor be leaving in just a few short months?

His breathing started to become erratic due to his train of thoughts, but then he felt Victor's thumb rubbing circles on his knee. It was oddly comforting. His breathing started to slow a little, his thoughts quieting down a little.

Victor noticed a change in Yuuri's breathing, just as he was calming down. Was his little piggy getting charmed?  Turned on even?  Victor wasn't sure.  He smiled and leaned in just a little bit more...   He opened his mouth to speak, but was distracted from his own idea when the car started to slow down, and pull in up against the curb.

In bright lights, on a screen up above the door, there was a sign that advertised several different things - different titles, most of which were in Mandarin, a few with English titles, including 'the Mermaid'

Yuuri glanced around as the car slowed. Oh... they must be there already. He looked around Victor and up at the theater. He hardly knew of any of these movies. Just went to show how much he paid attention to entertainment outside of ice skating. He spotted the posted for the movie Victor had mention. "Hmm... this definitely looks interesting." He smiled at him.

Victor finished paying, and confirming that someone from the cab company would be here to pick them up, when he trotted back over to Yuuri's side.  He smiled back at Yuuri, and take his own look at the movie poster.

"... this is the number one movie in China?"  He questioned, giving it a suspicious note, and then a smile and a laugh.  "Well let’s go in and get some refreshments!  Popcorn should be enough to tide us over until dinner, right?  What would you like to get from the counter?"  He asked, skipping the ticket line, since they already had theirs, and going straight inside.  Victor wanted the fully movie experience, and as best he knew, that meant Soda, candy, and popcorn.

Yuuri was hesitant to pick something from the counter. With the way he gained weight, he was pretty sure just looking at the stuff would earn him the piggy nickname back in a second. "Umm... yeah popcorn should be good. Is there anything in particular you like?"

He'd seen Victor down all kinds of food but he honestly wasn't sure where he stood on sweets. Yuri liked them okay, but again, he'd learned early on that he had to be extremely limited on them. It was almost to the point that he rarely had anything of that sort.

The heavily westernized theatre, of course had popcorn behind their counter, and a variety of sweets as well.  But Victor was instantly drawn to the stranger fair offered by the theatre.  The mix of homemade seaweed pastries, the dried and salted plumbs.

"These!  He finally settled on one, “These look amazing!"  He said as he pointed toward the candied sardines on the other side of the glass counter.

Yuuri raised an eyebrow. He had to be joking, right? Who thought candied sardines was a good idea?! He couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped. “If you say so. I think I’ll stick with the dried and salted plums.” Those seemed like a safe choice.

"Okay!  I'll get us an order of both!"  Victor said excitedly as he got his wallet out.  "But you'll have to let me try some of your plumbs, and I'll let you try some of my sardines."  He was serious.  He was dead serious.  He was so serious, he didn't even notice how Yuuri had reacted to his suggestion that the sardines looked good.

Victor ended up ordering quite a smattering of treats for them, trying out the Beijing specialties while getting the staples he'd come to expect:  Two Soda's, popcorn, a bag of salted plumbs and a box of candied sardines.  Turning back from the counter, he smiled at Yuuri as he handed him his cola.

"Ready to find our seats?"

Yuuri nodded excitedly. “Let’s go!” He shuddered at the thought of trying a sardine as he helped Victor carrying the snacks. He would at least try one. He may be out of soda by the time he was finished with it, but he would definitely try -one-. He smiled brightly as he followed Victor to the ticket ripper and then into the theater. He couldn’t believe how… normal this was. His twelve-year-old would have died of shock of the idea that he and his idol would one day be going to a movie together. He chuckled softly as they started to look for seats. “I’m so glad we came here.”

"Me too!"  Victor beamed with delight, his soda in one hand, the snacks held in one arm, while even still he held one of  Yuuri's hands, leading him inside and up in the theatre, heading toward the back but not all the way back.

His sixteen-year-old self would have died of shock at the idea of coming to a movie theatre with someone else, of being one of those couples that spent more time looking at each other than at the screen.  And even now, as he led Yuuri up to about 3 rows from the back, he could barely keep his eyes off Yuuri long enough to sort through the dark theatre, and over the legs of a few people who were already there to watch the movie.  Finally, Viktor found them some seats in the center of the row, with the light from the projector streaming right over their heads while the previews played.

How Victor could carry things -and- keep a hold of his hand was beyond him, but he wasn’t complaining. He could see just how excited Victor was and that made his unbelievably happy. Yuuri was glad the theater was already dark cause the further towards the back they went, the harder he was sure he was blushing.

Once they had found seats, he practically fell into the chair. Graceful Yuuri was only for the ice, and barely at that. He glanced at the screen as they got situated. He felt like a kid, practically bouncing as he waited for the movie to begin.

The theatre got darker, ever so noticeably.  While the theatre hadn't been loud before, there was a sudden pause to even the background chatter as everyone got ready for the real thing, the real movie they'd come to see.  Victor took a sip, and then set his drink down in the cup holder on the far side of Yuuri, positioned the popcorn in easy reaching distance for the other.

He was so happy, he was practically glowing in the dark theatre.  He loved movies, he loved Yuuri.  He let go of Yuuri's hand... only to slide his arm around Yuuri's shoulders.

And then the movie started.


	2. Chapter 2: First Date Continued/Celebrations

Chapter 2  
First Date Continued/Celebrations

Yuuri easily settling into Victor’s embrace as they watched the movie. They fell into a dance of sharing snacks, even the sardines, which, to Yuuri’s great surprise, weren’t terrible. He didn’t eat more than one, but it went down smoother than anticipated. He was pretty sure he ended up smiling the entire movie, which on its own was pretty good. He easily got sucked into the development of the characters.

In his opinion, the movie was over too soon. He got gotten pretty comfy cuddling into Victor’s side, despite the arm rest between them. As the lights went up, Yuuri stretched a little. “That was a good movie.”

Victor had been awash of emotions the whole movie.  he hadn't intended on getting sucked into it.  It was in a language he didn't understand, and he wanted to spend the night doting on Yuuri anyway, but throughout the movie he couldn't help but get drawn in.  He laughed out loud at the jokes, turning quickly throughout to check Yuuri's reaction, to share the joy with him.  At the touching and heartfelt moments, he'd cried - yes cried.   For a sappy romantic comedy to have made him cry... he was just feeling so much right now it got overwhelming....   But quickly wiping the corners of his eyes, squeezing Yuuri's shoulder for comfort... and another joke came and went and he was laughing again.

There were plenty of moments, where he couldn't help but be reminded of himself and Yuuri, plenty of moments whereas the romance developed he couldn't only reflect too happily on the man who was now letting him put his arm around him.  ...Silly pork cutlet bowl. making him go the long way around for this...

By the end of the movie, he was suitably satisfied with the little emotional rollercoaster he'd been on, and he looked down at Yuuri, comfortably pleased.  As credits rolled, and people started to move out of the theatre, Viktor didn't give even a hint of budging.

"Ready to go back?

 ‘No,’ Yuuri thought. “It might be a smart idea to. It’s getting late.” He had been hyper aware of Victor’s reactions during the movie. He couldn’t help it. The main demanded every bit of his attention. He couldn’t help but draw parallels between the fictional couple’s relationship and their own. And yes, he definitely shed some tears of his own. Call him a sap. He smiled at Victor, leaning in to nuzzle his shoulder as the man didn’t seem to want to move. “I’m pretty sure the staff wouldn’t like us staying here all night… and I doubt our lack of language skills for this country would be beneficial.” He grinned.

"Okay!"  Victor half cheered, half groaned as he forced himself to stand up.  "But only out of consideration for the staff.  If it were me, I'd just stay here all night~" He cooed, offering Yuuri a hand up.

The lights came on, the credits were finished rolling.  "Well, maybe I'm a little hungry.  It's a good thing we have food waiting for us back at the room, eh?"

He chuckled, taking his hand, tugging him up. "You can stay here, but I for one would like to sleep in those nice comfy beds we have back at the hotel." Sleep... cuddle... other- Hi stomach rumbled a little and he laughed, flushing slightly. "Guess the talk of dinner is appealing to my stomach."

"Then - to the hotel!"  Victor cheered.  If everything had gone right, He still had one more surprise for Yuuri.  He started to walk out, hurrying Yuuri along to walk out in front of him - or maybe he was still just fixated on touching Yuuri, and it was a good excuse to have his hand on Yuuri's back as they exited the theatre.

He chuckled. "That hungry, huh?" Victor's bursts of energy were always a surprise. Though he was always full of surprises, wasn't he? He couldn't help but lean into his touch.

"Starving!"  Victor cheered as he threw his arms around Yuuri - once they had gotten clear of the seats.  He withdrew back to leaving a simple arm around Yuuri's waist as they walked out the rest of the way, laughing as they went out.  Victor made small comments, asking Yuuri what his favorite part had been - all too eager to recite his own favorite lines, and reminisce about his favorite parts.

"Oh, Yuuri!  Let’s take a selfie by the movie poster!"

Yuuri leaned into him as they walked. He excitedly talked about the movie, grinning like an idiot as Victor recited his favorite parts. The man was so adorable. He couldn't help but laugh at the suggestion of a selfie. "Sure!" While Yuuri wasn't that active on social media, he knew Victor could give Pitchit a run for his money with how many selfies he liked to post.

Viktor didn't really have any family to speak of, he didn't have any friends that weren't also skaters.  What he had, was followers and fans, and tons of them.  Selfies came naturally, and social media was sometimes the only way he actually talked to people who weren't his own coaches for weeks at a time.

He had Yuuri pose with him several times, making a varying degree of faces, peace signs, showing off the ripped movies stubs- which Victor had strangely kept, possibly for this exact reason, before he finally settles on a picture to post.  Along with the brief description - "Went to see a Movie with (Whatever Yuuri's twitter account is) for his Silver Victory Date!!!"  And then all the emojis, and all the hashtags.

The prospect was almost so exciting... it took a while for him to look up, and scan the drop off point right in front of the movie theatre for their taxi...

Yuuri laughed, going along with all of the poses Victor was making him do. He was surprised Victor had easily pulled out their ticket stubs but honestly, he was glad. He wanted to remember every moment of their... date. He read what Victor had written with the picture. He smiled brightly, a light blush across his cheeks.

He cuddled into Victor's side as they waited for their taxi. "This is perfect." He spoke almost to himself, but loud enough for him to hear.

Victor smiled down at Yuuri, turning into him so that his back blocked the wind a little bit.  "Da, zvyozdochka moya"   It was getting colder as the night set on.  Yuuri was like a warm light in that dark night air.  Worth standing for, worth protecting, for he warmed Victors heart a hundred times over however much the wind chilled his back.

But even with that pleasant thought, there was something else nagging in Victors head, as he looked around for the taxi again, eyeing the cars that came and went on the street for any signs of a familiar vehicle, or one that looked like it was coming their way...  But there wasn't one.

"Let me call the taxi company... make sure they have someone headed our way..."  He mused, as he reached a hand into his coat pocket to fish around. ... He had all that information written down somewhere...

Yuuri blushed, the Russian phrase making his heart beat faster. He sighed contently in his arms. As Victor started to tense slightly, Yuuri looked at him concerned.

"What's up? Did we forget something?"

"No...  I don't think we're the ones who forgot..."  He mused, knitting his thin brows together. He had checked the run time of the movie.  He had checked with the driver before leaving parting...  They hadn't exactly rushed out of the theatre... so where was the cab?  "Just a second Yuuri.  Worst case, we have to wait just a little bit longer..."

Finally, he found the bit of paper he'd crammed deep down into the most secure part of his coat pocket.   Uncrumpling the paper, he had to withdraw away from Yuuri to put the number into his phone.   It was further away than he wanted to be, but only for a second before he brought the phone to his ear, and stepped back closer to Yuuri, looking over the Japanese boy's head as he kept an eye out.

"Ah.  Hello. Do you...." he looked at the paper in his hand again, and made a poor attempt at pronouncing the Mandarin words. <do you have taxi?>  "-a-Ah!  I'm sorry.  English.  Do you have Engli- No don't!  No!  Don't han-"   ... Victor pulled the phone away from his face, looking at it as if it had suddenly sprouted mushrooms that he wasn't quite sure if were poisonous or not.  "... He hung up on me."

He raised his eyebrows. "Hmm... sounds like some wires got crossed." He smiled, wrapping his arms around Victor, hugging him gently. "Why don't you call the hotel? We know there are people there that can understand us. Maybe they could call or if they have a shuttle or something..."

"Good idea."  Victor mumbled as he tried calling the hotel.  The hotel was able to get someone on the line, someone who spoke Russian, and Victor was very quickly off setting things straight.  The conversation went back and forth quickly, and finally, Victor pulled the phone back from his mouth, the receiver still next to his ear as he asked Yuuri in Japanese, “Do you want to wait here for them to call another taxi for us?  or do you want to walk back ourselves?"

Yuuri bit his lip, looking up and down the street. He really wasn't sure what would be safest, standing around or walking. If they were together, they should be okay, right? "We can walk it. It isn't that far."

Giving a staccato nod, Victor lowered the mic end of the phone, and exchanged the decision and his good byes with the person on the other end of the line.  Even after he hung up with the person on the other end, he brought his phone down in front of him and continued to poke at it for a minute longer... before announcing.   "Google says it should take about thirty minutes...  This way."

With that, he finally put his phone back into his pocket, and reached for Yuuri's hand again, to start off down the direction the map on the phone told him to.

Yuuri nodded. "Not too bad. And hey, we can work off those snacks." He smiled, squeezing Victor's hand gently. He glanced over, looking at the map on the phone. "And now we will be super ready for dinner. "

"Oy, you can say that again!  Here I was thinking I over did it on the amount of food I ordered, but I think I might actually eat two dinners at this rate."  Victor groaned playfully as they made their way through the streets of Beijing.

He laughed. "You would do that on a normal day. I swear you can put away some food." He gently nudged him. He let out a breath and looked around at the buildings. "So, coach... what are your thoughts on where we go next?" Yuuri was definitely talking about skating... or the kiss. He really didn't know himself which he meant.

"Where we go next?"  Victor parroted... buying himself some time to think.

Well, where do they go from here.

"Well, obviously, we're going to have to get our own, place - that's a minimum if we're ever going to have children of our own.  Oh - I think we should have two girls, wouldn’t that be adorable Yuuri?  We could dress them in all sorts of pretty little dresses and braid their hair~ But I'm not opposed to it if you want a boy that you can run around the back yard with and be manly about."  He teased.

His head whipped around. "Wait what?!" He tripped over his own feet, gripping Victor's arm as he tried to steady himself.

Reached out like a flash to grab Yuuri, and keep him from falling over.  Yuuri getting hurt - right now - was out of the question.  It was the biggest thing Victor had worried about with walking, and why he'd called for a taxi in the first place.  He didn't want Yuuri walking around if he could help it.  Not right after a match when his feet were certain to be at their most sensitive.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Yuuri.  I was just joking!" ... sorta.

Yuuri was grateful for Victor's help. "Thanks," He mumbled. Once he got his bearings he looked at Victor, trying not to look or sound disappointed that he said he was joking. "R-right..." He chuckled nervously, playfully hitting him. "I meant where do we go now with... with skating."

Now it was Victors turn to look disappointed.  "Oh...  with skating, of course."  He helped Yuri up the rest of the way.

"Obviously, we need to refine that quad flip.  I think I mentioned it earlier, that tonight you proved you could do it, now we just need to get you actually land it.  Your footwork and artistry is top notch, as always so we really only need to practice those at the minimum to keep them fresh in your mind.  Obviously the more difficult technical aspects are where you need to be working.  Aside from the flip, you missed two jumps that I know for a fact you can make and I think a lot of that at this point is really just experience.  It a bit of an awkward place in the season to be polishing up on mechanical points like this; but it is what it is, and we're lucky you're not in the next event so we have this week to work back in Japan.  Unless of course you'd rather go straight on to Moscow and begin practicing there."

Earlier, Victor had made up his mind not to dig into Yuuri too much with his criticism of his beloved's amazing performance.    Not tonight.  He'd been planning to give Yuuri the full, unfaltering analytics once they were back in Japan, but... since it was what Yuuri had asked for, Victor could only assume that meant his student was ready to hear it.  And of course, if that's what Yuuri wanted, then Victor wasn't going to hold back any of it.  He believed in Yuuri.  He believed Yuuri was capable of his own harsh standards - and holding Yuuri to it was his way of showing love.

Yuuri smiled to himself. He had opened the floodgates. He nodded. "Hai. Um... okay so adding the quad flip... you seriously think I should? I mean... my jumps tend to stuck and I'm sure you don't want to see me butchering your signature move." He frowned slightly. He was right. He shouldn't have to work on technical skills this late in the game. God how did he even think a good medal was possible.

"I would rather practice at home if that's okay." He sighed. "You're right. I shouldn't be missing such basic things. I promise I'll work extra on them so that won't be an issue in Moscow."

He was quiet for a second before stopping suddenly. "And for the record... once the surprise wore off..." He smiled softly at Victor. "That sounded like a pretty amazing future."

Victor heart stopped.   ... it must have stopped.  Absolutely stopped.  He spun around slowly on his heels, his back stiff and hips straight as he did.  His lips were parted softly in gasp while his blue eyes shimmered.  With the chill in the air and the bite of the wind, it was impossible to tell if the Russian, already only a shade off from albino, was blushing absolute scarlet or if his cheeks were really that frost bitten.

"A-ah..."  He stuttered, and reached up to scratch his cheeks as he averted his gaze.  "I just... thought the actual answer to that question was so obvious, that it didn't really need to be said, you know?"

Yuuri grinned. Well that was an interesting reaction. God, he loved surprising the man. That's how the idea of the quad flip came about after all. He walked up to him, wrapping his arms around his waist. "That's true, but as a coach, I need to hear it. And yeah, I know we could wait until tomorrow but you know me. I've been running that know through my head picking out every minute detail."

"Well..."  Victor responded, putting one arm around his shoulder.  With the other hand, he began to brush the stray bangs out of Yuuri's face, so he could see those beautiful amber eyes, even though those adorable glasses.  "... we should go at our own pace, and just do whatever feels right, you know?  There's no secret to it.  We'll just let ourselves feel how we're going to feel."

There were some things that they absolutely couldn't do.  He needed Yuuri staying in peak physical condition, and if the man was new to certain aspects of adult play... or if he just wasn't used to them, or got nervous while they were doing them... it wasn't a position he wanted his skater to be in while he was trying to concentrate on the next day on the ice.  But... just about everything else...

"Oh.  And just for the record.  You're not messing up on basic things.  Your messing up on hard things.  I already told you, your fundamentals are strong.  Stronger than any of the competitors we saw today.  You're messing up on technical aspects of difficult maneuvers, and we need to get your confidence up that you feel as comfortable with them as you do with your fundamentals.... are we clear?"

Yuuri looked into Victor's gorgeous blue eyes. No matter how much he put himself down, Victor was always there to make him see that no matter what, Yuuri was talented and he could do this. He smiled softly, tearing up slightly and nodded. "Yeah, we're clear. I'll do my best."

He smiled and reached up to kiss Victor's cheek. "Come on, let's get back to the hotel. I want to get under those heavy blankets and get comfy and warm."

Victor wasn't about to let Yuuri go with just a kiss on the cheek.  His hand was holding the back of Yuuri's head already, it wasn't that hard to tilt his head, and let Yuuri's own momentum land him on the better target - on his lips - where he could kiss Yuuri back, where he could speak without words how his heart felt.

But Yuuri was right.  They needed to get back to the hotel.  Their food was likely getting cold, and frankly, Victor didn't know how Chinese people felt about men like them.  He was fairly certain they could at least hold hands without anyone looking at them twice, they'd made it this far just like that after all... and he was certain that no one in the skating world would really care ... but just randomly, a pda out here in the open might be a little much.  He drew back to just holding hands for now, so that they could walk more swiftly back to the hotel.  But his hand was held tight, and he wasn't going to let go.

The kiss sent his heart into overdrive. Who would have thought just a few hours ago they had shared their first kiss and now... Yuuri smiled as he kissed him back. He was in heaven.

As much as he would have loved to let the world around them melt away, they were still in the middle of downtown and they needed to get back to the hotel. He held Victor's hand just has tight as they made their way back. Yuuri let out a breath as he spotted the hotel. It had been a little further than he had anticipated, and boy was he starving.

Getting back up to their room was a breeze once they were back at the hotel.  The lobby was basically empty by then, and the elevator had already been waiting for them right at the first floor.   Victor couldn't help himself as they ascended the stairs, and leaned down to give Yuuri a quick kiss as they rose up... just because he could at this point, and wouldn't it be wonderful if kissing on the elevator became their thing?

Yuuri squeaked as Victor kissed him, not expecting it. He quickly melted into the kiss, holding onto the man's biceps. He couldn't help the happy hum that escaped him. He briefly thought that he was glad it was late and the chances of someone spotting them were slim.

Victor smiled at Yuuri's cute little squeak.  It kind of made him want to mess with him more - but sadly, the elevator ride was all too short, and the doors opened up to their floor.  A short walk later, and they were back at their room.  Victor took the initiative this time, and opened the hotel room door.  Man, he really hoped the food was there, and that it wasn’t too cold...

When he opened up the door, the smell of good Beijing cuisine rolled out.   There was a try, parked next to the bed, containing 4 covered dishes, a bottle of champagne ready to be uncorked soaking in a bucket of what had recently been ice, and two champagne flutes for its purpose.

Yuuri's stomach rumbled as the smell of the food hit him. "Mmmm it smells amazing in here." He stepped further into the room, spotting the tray. Man, Victor really had planned things.

The surprises weren't done yet~ Victor practically skipped into the room, walking with such a spring in his step.  It almost didn't show how tired he really was. 

"Now, I wonder which one it is..."  He mused out loud as he started opening up the trays of food.  The first one, was obviously for Victor himself; a seafood medley in oyster sauce.  "Oh~ That looks good, but not that one..."  He uncovered another.  It was a good-looking chicken dish, with lots of vegetables and garnishes.  But it still wasn't right...  The third one Victor uncovered...  the smell of pork poured out into the room as the silver lid was removed.  Inside, were slices of pork, which had obviously been fried, laying on top of a bed of Fried Rice.   "Ah... well it's not exactly how I told them to make it, but I guess it's not bad considering they didn't even know what I was asking for when I ordered it...  The other one's also a pork dish that was actually on the menu - just in case their attempt at the cutlet bowl was unactable.  Or you could also have the chicken, I’ll each whichever one you don't like."  Victor hummed happily as he started to uncork the champagne.

Yuuri watched Victor, curious as to what he seemed so excited about. He decided to let him do his thing as he shed his scarf and coat. With the different smells hitting him as Victor lifter the lids, he couldn't help but wonder if the man had ordered the whole menu. He smiled, shaking his head as he removed his shoes.

His head whipped around as a familiar scent reached him. No way... He heard Victor as he stepped over, his eyes spotting what had been under the last covered tray. He let out a laugh, bringing a hand to his mouth. "Oh my gosh...!" He smiled brightly, wrapping his arms around the man. "I can't believe you did this! Thank you!"

Victor grinned, Beaming with absolute delight.  "It's your favorite, right?  It's probably not as good as your mothers, but it's still part of the deal for winning a victory, right?"

[Yeah, yeah he was tearing up. This was probably the sweetest thing Victor could have done. He nodded and pulled him close, kissing him. "I don't care what it tastes like. Just the fact that you even thought to do this for me means the world. Thank you so much, Victor."

Victor reached a hand up to wipe the tears that were threatening to fall from Yuuri's eyes.  "It was the least I could do..."  He purred softly down to his partner... "I just hope it makes you as happy, as you've made me..."  He spoke lowly, and softly...  ...Yuuri was going to have to push him away though, if he actually wanted to eat, because for the moment, Victor was drowning in Yuuri's eyes again.

Yuuri's smile couldn't get any bigger, at least he didn't think it could. "You've made me so happy... I can't thank you enough."

Not too long ago, when trying to figure out what Eros meant to him, he had said Katsudon. Nothing else could make him lose the ability to make rational decisions. Now... he was pretty damn sure this man in his arms was his new reason for making not so great decisions.... and he could care less.

The moment lasted a little longer than it probably should have, both men staring into each other's eyes.  Should he kiss him now?  Again?  He'd kissed him so many times since this afternoon it almost didn't seem like enough anymore.  Just this morning, he'd been wishing desperately that he could do just that, and now it wasn't enough...  Victor's smile broke, and unable to help himself he laughed.

"We should probably eat."  He managed.  He wanted to do so many things with Yuuri.  So many things that would involve his mouth.  It was better to eat now so they could get to anything else they wanted to do.  Victor took a seat between bed and the tray, "Is there anything you know you're not going to want?  I liked the sound of everything so I'm fine with anything."

Yuuri nodding in agreement. He was starting to get really hungry and he was pretty sure kissing was not a great source of sustenance. He sat on the bed beside him, looking over the food. "It all looks so good. Honestly eat whatever you want. I'm good with anything as well."

Victor couldn't help but laugh.  "Well, in that case..." Victor considered... "I think I'll have the pork cutlet and you can have the chicken~" he teased as he playfully reached over Yuuri to swipe one of the pork cutlet pieces with his chopsticks.

Yuuri quickly grabbed his wrist. "Touch it and die, Nikiforov."

A broad smile stretched across Victor's face.  "Wow!  So Scary!"  He laughed out loud, all too amused by the reaction.

He smirked, letting go of him. "Hey, there are many things I will allow, but stealing my Katsudon... not a chance." He smiled and picked up a piece of pork with his chopsticks and held it up to Victor. "I will share though since you were so thoughtful when ordering."

Yuuri was feeding him?  This had to be a dream.  Victor had positioned himself on the bed, so that one leg was one, one was down, and he was turned slightly so he could reach over Yuuri, but now he was just facing the Younger man. "Don't mind if I do~” Victor cooed.

Making a big show of it, he bit the pork ferociously off the chopstick.  But he'd only actually put his lips on half of the portion... the other half of the cutlet hung out from between his lips.  He made a face at Yuuri, and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively... before he himself couldn't take it anymore and used his hands to hold onto the piece he'd been offered so he could speak.

He put his forehead against Yuuri, "if I offered to feed you mouth to mouth would you accept it?"

He made surprised noise, eyes wide. This was definitely not what he expected.  He was pretty sure his face was the shade of Victor's "Stay Close to Me" jacket. "I... uh... um... nnn..." Words. Words would be great right now.... how to words? "S-sure...?"

Victor laughed and rubbed his fingers through Yuuri's hair, mussing it a bit.   It was kind of something he'd always wanted to try himself, but it seemed too much to do without warning.  And even as he worried that the spontaneity of it had passed... if Yuuri was still willing to give it a try, then...  Moving with a sense of purpose, Victor put his end of the pork cutlet section back in between his lips, then leaned forward toward Yuuri, drawing their lips closer.

Yuuri was unable to take his eyes off Victor. How was it that the man could make pork look so damn sexy? He was nervous as all get out but he couldn't help but want to try what the man had suggested. Slowly he leaned forward, lips parting so he could take the offered meat into his mouth.

Once it was clear his partner was going for it..  Victor leaned forward just a little bit more, letting his eyes fall down half lidded as he watched their faces get closer.  Until their lips touched.

It was hard to say if it was a kiss or not, their lips touching but the piece of meat sharing residences in both their mouths, but it was a far cry from the heart-felt or chaste kisses they had exchanged so far.   The food underscored the exchange with an undeniable succor of lust and Yearning.  Following his along of his own advice of just doing what felt natural, Victor let his tongue slip along the line of pork, and glance into his partner's mouth.  But the exchange could only last for a second, a brief interlude before the supple morsel began to give way and break apart between the pressure of their lips.  Victor pulled back from the kiss, just in time to savor his portion of the bite.

"Vkusno..."  He said, his mouth now full of pork.

Yuuri brought his hand to his mouth, laughing a little as he chewed. He had always loved Victor's reaction when he ate something he truly enjoyed. His eyes were shining as he at the pork. "Okay... so I have never eating Katsudon like that... but I can't say I didn't enjoy it." He smiled shyly. He licked his lips and picked up a bit of the fried rice, taking a bite. "You know... I guess I got what I wanted. Remember at the competition in Hasetsu? I said I wanted to win and eat this with you." He smiled. "Dream come true."

"I thought we had Katsudon after that.  Or was that before you started running away from me at every turn of the corner, moy malen'kiy porosenok" Victor cooed, rubbing his cheek against Yuuri's temple.  Somewhere in the mix his hand had managed to snake around Yuuri's shoulder, so he could hold the other man at least a little bit.

As much as he had enjoyed the food-kiss, it would have taken forever to eat that way, out of simple practicality Victor reached over for the seafood medley, and started eating regularly.

Yuuri chuckled and nodded, leaning into him a little as he ate. "True, but remember... I said I wanted to keep winning and keep eating it with you." He grinned. "A dream that I hope never ends."

It was almost and after thought now, but Victor leaned forward a bit for the bottle of champagne.  It uncorked with a soft pop as Victor wedge the cork out, and poured them both a glass.  "That's right.  You're going to have to tell me though, do you want me to order you pork cutlets in the hotel like this, or would you rather wait until we got home and had your mother's cooking?  Hers really are wonderful."

He mused, and had a bit of the champagne.

Yuuri accepted the glass, taking a sip. "Hmm... that's a good question." He took another bite, mulling over his thoughts. "I think if I was going to be home soon, I'd rather wait and have mom's cause like you said, they are wonderful." He smiled softly. "But I think this was the best choice for tonight. I know I've said thank you already but I can't thank you enough."

Victor smiled, leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Yuuri.  "If you really want to thank me, you should know by now that 'thank you' isn't what I want to hear."

<<About this time, Yuuri also receives a text message from Phichit, that read as follows:

"Omg!  Yuuri!  Did you see Viktor's tweet just a second ago?! ((A link to the selfie of the two of them in front of the movie poster))

Does this mean it's official?  Are you two dating?!

Congratulations!!!

OMG!  I'm so happy for you!

Also, does this mean ur gay?!

It’s totally cool if you are!

You're still my friend and I support you no matter what

and I kind of already thought you were anyway, but you didn't say anything so I didn't say anything.

But I'm getting away from the point.

OMG VICTOR!

You must be so excited!!!

Message me back when you get the chance <<smiley face, winking emoji. XD XD XD >>

Yuuri froze where he sat, eyes locked onto Victor's. "Uh... I...." He blinked as he heard his phone vibrate. "Huh... wonder who that is."

He leaned over and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. It was a message from Phichit. He furrowed his brows as he read the text, his head tilted so the glare on his glasses prevented his eyes from being seen. "What?!" He clicked the link, whimpering as he slid to his knees on the floor. Shit shit shit! Now everyone would think the same as Phichit. While in all honesty Yuuri's heart was excited at that, he knew... he knew the media and fans would rip him and their relationship to shreds. And... what if they didn't think he was good enough for Victor. He groaned loudly and looked up at Victor. "You... you said that was a date?!"

This was the problem with dating Japanese men, they never gave up 'I love you's easily.  And there was his cell phone, to save his little piggy from having to say anything uncomfortable. Viktor sighed and quietly went back to eating his seafood medley. ...except oh, it was all gone already. Victor started sampling the chicken and second pork dishes, trying to figure out which one he wanted next...

Yuri question hit him as something of a surprise. "Da. It was, wasn't it?" He asked simply. Had Yuuri not thought it was a date? A date they were arguably still on, no less.

He gaped at the answer. "I... but... wha..." He searched Victor's face, trying to determine how serious he was being. It surprised him to note that the man looked dead serious.

His breathing started to become shallow as he processed what was going on. It hadn't been a date. They had gone to the movies... and kissed... and are having dinner. Shit it's a date!

Yuuri slowly got up, keeping his gaze on Victor as he sat back on the bed. His thoughts went back to Phichit's text. 'Are you two dating?!' "Victor... are we... dating?"

Why did he have to ask him something like that directly! How much more obvious did he need to be!  Oh, Victor almost felt bad for all the hearts he was certain now,100% Yuuri had broken with his sheer density. Victor could relate, he was one of those hearts after all

Taking a deep breath, Victor let his initial shock after the question fade and he put down his chopsticks. He collected himself.

"Well, that's really up to you right now, isn't it? "

He stood up, going to meet Yuuri where he stood, " I've already kissed you, several times, confessed my love for you.  How many more times do I need to tell you how I feel before you get it?"

He blinked. That deer on the headlights look on his face. And then all of his blood was in his cheeks.

"I... you... you really think I'm worth it? I mean... you're Victor Nikiforov. You could have -anyone- in the world. Why... why me?"

Victor was melting "Of course you're worth it."  He just blurted it out.  He reached forward, brushing Yuuri’s bangs so he could look into Yuuri’s eyes. "I don't want anyone in the world, I want you. I've wanted you all year, from the moment I met you."

And now, it was Victor's turn to look concerned, disappointed as he looked down. " but... it's okay if you're not interested. I'll still be your coach. I'll keep all of my promises to you."

Part of the problem of being Victor Nikiforov, was you never really knew what people meant when they said 'you're THE Victor Nikiforov' did it mean Yuri didn't want him?

Yuuri could feel himself tearing up. The man he not only idealized, but had grown to love over the last few months wanted him out of everyone. He was more than elated.

As Victor's face turned disappointed Yuuri panicked. "What?! No!!" He reached out, grabbing his shoulders. "Victor... yes I still want you to be my coach, but... it's no secret that I've looked up to you most of my life. I had posters of you all over my room. I was obsessed. But since you came into my life for real and not just through the tv... you have changed everything. I love you. I love the way your mouth looks like a heart when you get excited. I love the way you are with Makkachin. You treat my family and friends with so much respect and have made them fall in love with you too. And me... you care so much. You know what I'm thinking even before I do. You are patient and you are so kind. You... Victor, I love you, on and off the ice. I love you more than anything in this world."

-Oh.  Well maybe it wasn't so hard to get Japanese men to say 'I love you' after all..

"Yuuri..."  Victor intoned, trying to find what to say to all that.  He'd been surprised when Yuuri had grabbed on to him, and melted deeper and deeper with each word.  He wasn't used to someone loving him so outright, so earnestly, so fervently...  And it touched him -  to have his feelings returned...

And instantly Victor was throwing his arms around Yuuri again, embracing him, holding as close to his chest as he possibly could.  He wondered briefly if he could hear it, his heart beating, how excited and close it was to bursting hearing that from Yuuri.

"I love you too, Yuuri.  I love everything about you.  Every time I find out something new I just love it more and more than I could even imagine.  I love your smile.  I love your eyes, I love how enthusiastic you are about everything you do. I love how thoughtful you are.  I love, how I can see it when you're thinking hard on something; and I love it how hard you work at everything that's important to you. I- I love how you are with Makkachin, and I love how you're kind to everybody.  I love the way you treasure your friends and I love the way you talk with your family - even when I can't really understand you.  Everything about you - I just, I just love you, Yuuri."

"I love how stubborn you can be, and how dense and oblivious you can be, even when something is standing right in front of you.  I think its adorable how you always over rotate your axels and how quickly you put on weight.  It makes you so soft and cuddly."  And this was supposed to be a list of just the good things, right?

Victor was hard to keep it straight even in his own head, he was just so excited that all the things he loved about Yuuri started flowing out of his lips whether it was flattering or not.

He managed to get control of himself, just shy of picking up Yuuri and actually spinning him right then and there. 

"So which is it then, Yuuri?  Are we dating or not?"  Victor pulled back only far enough to look down into Yuuri's eyes.  His own ice blues sparkling with anticipation.

Yuuri had opened his mouth to reply, but then Victor kept going. He smiled broadly as his list kept going on and on. So that wasn't just when he was critiquing him. Good to know.

Yuuri blinked in surprise as Victor pulled back. At the question, he couldn't help himself. He laughed. "After all that do you think I would really say no?" He smirked.

"I don't know, You're full of surprises sometimes." Victor purred.  Idly, he'd just started slowly dancing with Yuuri, swaying him from side to side as one hand fell to his hips, the other resting on Yuuri's cheek.  "I don't want to rush to any conclusions only to find out that you were thinking something different."

Yuuri leaned into his touch, swaying with him. He chuckled. "Probably smart of you." He leaned up, lips barely brushing against Victor's. "Yes, Vitya, we're dating."

"Yuratchka" He purred, lowering his eyelids down.  They were still moving, still swaying from side to side. as Victor leaned again, pressing another, heartfelt kiss on Yuuri's lips.

"Vy razukrasit' v moy mir"

Yuuri moaned softly into the kiss. God he loved the sound of his name in Russian and the voice who had said it. He blinked at the phrase, tilting his head slightly. "What... does that mean?" He asked breathlessly.

"You bring color into my world."  He breathed against Yuuri's lips, brushing the back of his hand against Yuuri's cheek.

He blushed at that, his hands tightening around the fabric of Victor's shirt. He could say the same to Victor. His eyes slipped close as he kissed him back, a hand reaching up to tangle in his hair.

"Hajimete ata tokikara sukidata."

"What is this?"  Victor asked, equally as perplexed by the unfamiliar Japanese words...

Yuuri smiled softly. "I've loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you."

Victor was left speechless...  What more did they really need to say?  They loved each other.  So he decided to let his lips say what couldn't be said.  He pressed his lips against Yuuri's.  His hands slid down Yuuri's sides, as he pulled the younger man closer.  Under the guise of still slow dancing, Victor began to maneuver both of them back closer to one of the beds.  It didn't really matter which one.  He walked them backwards until the back of his calves hit the bed.  He sat down, tugging at Yuuri to bring him down with him.  Victor didn't want to be separated from Yuuri now.  Not even for the seconds it would have taken to change positions.

As he kissed him back, Yuuri was aware that they were moving. He assumed it was to the beds. Sure enough, he felt Victor sitting. With the way the other held him, neither seemed to want to break their connection. Yuuri ended up straddling Victor as he sat on his lap. His fingers were tangled in the soft, silver hair he loved so much. He pressed closer to the man, not wanting to spare even an inch between them.

Victor was just enamored with Yuuri right now, like he was in some sort of dream.  He placed kiss, after kiss on the other man's lips, until his own lips were starting to feel bruised and tingly.  Of course, he was physically aroused as well.  There was a certain tightness in his pants that made that fact undeniable, as it pressed up from his lap into Yuuri's seat - but it was hardly Victor's primary concern right now.  Mostly, he just wanted to smother Yuuri in kisses and adorations.

He could easily tell Victor was turned on. Hell, he wasn't the only one. Unfortunately, Yuuri was pretty inexperienced to really initiate anything. Right now all he knew was that he felt like kissing Victor was as much as a necessity as breathing.

However, his body seemed to want to do its own thing. He broke contact with Victor's lips, but quickly moved to kissing along his jawline. The kissing was slow and sensual, taking his time enjoy the feel of Victor's skin on his lips.

"Uuhn.."  Victor groaned as Yuuri started to nip as his neck.  Victor had taken the time to find Yuuri's weak spot... and just thinking about that was the only que his hands needed to wander up, snaking up the planes of Yuuri's back, and along his neck, before they found the Japanese boy's lobes.  He just started fondling the soft lobes of flesh, flicking them and caressing along the curves of his ears, just giving his hands something to do while he savored the things Yuuri's mouth was doing to his neck.  His lips felt so good, and each kiss of Yuuri's along his jugular felt like he was breathing in fresh new air of divine heaven.   It was getting difficult to remain seated, and the more Yuuri pressed, the more Victor leaned back, and back...  Until he was on his back, looking up at the other, and panting wantonly...

He cursed softly as he felt Victor messing with his ears. Why that was a sensitive spot, he had no clue. All he knew was that it was getting him very hot and bothered.

He kissed down Victor's neck, sucking gently on a more sensitive area of flesh. He could tell they were getting more horizontal. He pulled back slowly, face flushed as he looked into those beautiful blue eyes.

"V-Victor... I... want..." What did he want? Despite his hormones, Yuuri wasn't sure he was ready to have full blown sex... yet. But he wanted to do something. An idea popped into his head and his face heated up. "Can I help... with this?" He reached between them, lightly brushing the bulge in Victor's pants with his fingertips.

That touch brought a band of red stretching from ear to ear and across Victor's cheeks. "Y-Yes!  Yes Please!"  Victor answered, nodding more emphatically than he had intended to.

But it was hard to think straight when Yuuri touched him there.  He wanted it so bad.  He hadn't been ready to let the younger man inside him again but... off and on all night he'd been thinking about how wonderful it would have been to pleasure the beautiful Japanese Man in front of him...  Just the idea of those hands... anything... touching him...  reflexively his hips rocked forward, pushing into the touch that came, letting Yuuri know that he was VERY MUCH desired, even if Victors words were failing him.

"But only..." Victor added, growing bold and reaching forward himself, kneading along Yuuri's inner thigh, if I can touch... this... as well?"

Yuuri shivered at his touch, his cock twitching in anticipation. His face was undoubtedly red. He nodded in response. "O-of course."

He pushed up Victor's shirt, leaning down to kiss his flat, muscular stomach. His fingers danced lightly over his sides. He couldn't believe this was happening. That this perfect man was letting him do this. He smiled softly as he kissed the smooth skin.

Victor could barely believe this was happening.  This perfect man was doing this to him.  He glanced back over at the mostly - eaten food cart.  Not even a whole glass of champagne this time either.  A smile crossed Victor's face, and he used a hand to half cover his face, feeling for the moment exposed and embarrassed himself.   Well... even if it wasn't even a whole glass, it was confirmation that his shy Japanese man needed the bubbly to let go.  --But mostly, Victor was just so happy that this was happening...  And the sight of Yuuri kissing down his stomach was nearly too much to handle.  It made his already too tight pants feel nearly painful at their constriction.

They were wearing too many clothes altogether.  Victor finished what Yuuri had started, pulling his sweater and the shirt beneath it up and over his head.  He discarded the clothes thoughtlessly on the ground next to them, and then went to work tugging at Yuuri's clothes, pulling the other man's shirt up as he resisted the lust brought on by those soft, tickling kisses.

Yuuri squeaked in surprise by Victor's movements, but allowed him to get both of their shirts off. He chuckled and looked up at him. "Getting a little impatient there?" He grinned and sat up, working the undo Victor's pants.

Impatient?   Impatient?!?!?!  Nine months of living like a monk and this was impatient?!  Victor laughed. Victor had sat up too, as he helped Yuuri's shirt off the rest of the way and cast it aside.  Leaning back on one arm, he caressed Yuuri's cheek, and ran his fingers through his hair.  "If I'm impatient, it's only because the treat looks so delicious."  He purred in reply.  As he spoke, his hand fell down, feeling Yuuri's broad, muscled chest.

The Japanese man looked so small when he was wearing clothes, it was easy to forget how manly he looked when his chest was exposed like this.  Victor ran a thumb across Yuuri's nipple, just testing it out to see how the other man reacted.  He wasn't interested in teasing the small bud just yet, there was so much more of Yuuri to take in, so much to let his hands roam across.  His tight pectorals, his neat lats that spread just across his ribs and flowed into the soft curves of his stomach... and ran further down...

Victor completely left undoing his pants to Yuuri, but they weren't difficult.  The waist fit loosely on his hips, but the tent kept the fabric taught enough to work with.  Once Yuuri had unbuttoned the top, the zipper was easy enough to pull down.  Victor's erection pushed forward even through his narrow-cut briefs, the outline of his meaty shaft evident through the sheer black fabric.

Yuuri blushed at the reply, wanting to say he was nothing special. However, before he could reply, he felt Victor's hands running down his chest. He arched into his touch, panting softly. He gasped as his thumb ran across his nipple.

As he worked to push down his pants, he sucked in a breath. Holy shit he was gorgeous. Yuuri brushed his finger up the bulge before gently peeling down the briefs.

Victor's cock sprung out from his briefs eagerly the moment it was freed.  The Russian born skater's manhood was proportioned much like himself; a considerable length, but comparatively slender.  The tapered head was flushed and red from where it peeked out of his foreskin before the color evened out halfway down the length of his shaft.  The thickest part was in the middle, but stayed a fairly consistent length all the way down to its base, where his balls, a little on the smallish side, were nestled in the same silvery filaments that covered the rest of his body.

His hand was back up, to hold Yuuri's face in his hand.  Victor's cheeks were flushed, and his eyes darted back and forth between Yuuri's own eyes as he searched for the other man's reaction to the sight before him.

Yuuri couldn't help but stare for a good moment. His cheeks were flaming. He slowly looked up, meeting Victor's eyes. "You are so beautiful, you know that?" He leaned in, kissing him softly.

A soft kiss wasn't going to do it.  It had been nearly a minute now since their lips had been entangled and it was far, far too long.  Victor pressed his lips firmly against Yuuri's.  With his hand on the back of Yuuri's head, he tried to fall back again, pulling Yuuri down with him.

The hand he had been using to support himself, found better use now as he snuck it between the two of them, finding his way to the closure of Yuuri's pants.  This had been the deal after all, right?  Yuuri could take care of his if he could touch Yuuri's...  As he kissed Yuuri, his lips seeking to delve deeper and deeper into the other man as he parted own lips, his normally deft and nimble fingers fumbled with the buttons on Yuuri's jeans.

Yuuri squeaked in surprise as he felt his hand on the back of his head, but he quickly melted into the kiss. He fell with him, pressing his body against his. He hummed in satisfaction as he felt Victor fumbling to undo his pants, which were becoming increasingly tight.

He pulled back from the kiss and smirked. "Eager to get in there?" He chuckled and reached for his hand, bringing to his lips and kissing his fingertips. "Let me take care of you. Then you can worry about me." He slid down his body, soft kisses being placed on his stomach, moving lower until he finally kissed the tip of Victor's cock, his eyes never looking away from his.

Victor's eyes were locked on Yuuri's.  At the moment, he couldn't force himself to look away, even if he'd wanted to.  And why would he want to?  The other man's warm body on top of his, skin to skin.  The heat was incredible, matched only by the chill that ran down Victor's spine as he watched Yuuri descend down on his body.

A flush crossed Victor's cheeks as he considered just how wrong he'd gotten it all along.   It wasn't that Yuuri got to have pork cutlet bowls after a victory, it was that Yuuri got to eat whatever he wanted.  And right now, evidently, what he wanted to eat, was Victor.

Finally giving in, to letting this man have his way yet again, Victor withdrew his arms back, propping himself up on his elbows so that he could watch as Yuuri's soft lips graced his hard cock.  Reflexively, his eager cock twitched the moment it was touched.

"Bozhe moy, ty prekrasna."  <<My God, you're beautiful>> Was all he could manage to say.

Yuuri hummed as he sucked gently on Victor's tip. His tongue swirled around the head. He could taste the precum weeping from it. He briefly registered what Victor had said, and while he didn't understand the meaning of the words, the sound of them in Victor's voice made his cock twitching.

His thumbs massaged Victor's hips as he sucked on him. He decided to try and go lower, relaxing his throat.

Victor's breath had gone from uneven to outright ragged as he watched Yuuri work, panting at the warm sensation that Yuuri was causing to spread all over his body.  At first, even if it was just the tip, the inside of Yuuri's mouth felt so warm, so hot, like a fire gently caressing him and steadily consuming him.  It trickled all the way down his shaft, pooling in his balls before radiating out through his legs and up his spine.  The way Yuuri's tongue curled made Victor's toes curls as he watches, his brain going completely blank for a moment, except for the sight, the lust right before him.

The hands on his hips was the only thing that kept him from bucking into Yuuri's mouth - and when his partner lowered himself down on Victor's lengthy shaft, the Russian man couldn't hold it in any longer, and a long, low moan rolled out from his throat.  He rolled his head back, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the sensation of the head of his cock, hitting the back of Yuuri's throat.

"Ah... Yes.  Yuuri..  ...just like that."  He moaned back softly.

Yuuri's eyes flicked back up to the man's face. He hadn't realized he had been looking down his body, watching the way it reacted to his movements. He smiled around the delicious cock in his mouth. Seeing his idol, his coach, his... his Victor, melt before him like this was intoxicating.

He pulled back up to the tip, letting his tongue drag against the shaft. Just as he got to the tip he went back down again, getting a rhythm going. He loved the way the man tasted, the way his cock felt in his mouth, and oh God the sounds Victor made were driving him crazy. He rolled his own hips, pressing his erection into the bed as he pleasured the man beneath him.

Victor's panting quickly took on the same pace as Yuuri's head bobbing up and down along his shaft.  A moan accompanied every downward stroke and a whimper every time his lover's mouth rose up.  His shoulders had fallen flat on his back again, as one hand sought out the back of Yuuri's head - to caress him, and tangle his fingers through Yuuri's thick, black, coarse hair - that texture that Victor just couldn't get enough of.  His other hand he brought up to his own mouth, biting on his knuckle to try and stifle some of the embarrassing sounds he was making. His hips just couldn't be contained anymore; as Yuuri fell into a rhythm, Victor's hips began to rock, and sway, rolling up into Yuuri's mouth.

"Y-Yuuri..."  Victor hazarded it - feeling too good now to feel worried about how embarrassing it was to ask, "please... play with my balls a little..."

Yuuri moaned softly as he felt the hand in his hair. He titled his head into the touch. God that felt amazing. He had to remember to focus on what he was doing. Victor's movements caught him to falter slightly but he quickly fell into another rhythm, allowing him to fuck his mouth.

He blushed as he heard Victor's request.  He tried to nod, but didn't get very far. Yuuri brought his hand between them, cupping the man's balls, massaging them gently as he sucked harder.

Even if Yuuri at replied, at the moment, Victor wasn't sure he would have been able to hear anything over his own wonton panting and moans.  As Yuuri began to touch his balls, Victor's moans took on quiet urgency as he got closer and closer.  The pressure, the suction, the heat - the wetness of his lover's mouth... it was all just perfect, and so close to sending him over the edge.

His hips wouldn't stop now, even as he tried to will it himself they wouldn't stop thrusting up into Yuuri's mouth.  "That's it... That's it! Yuuri!! I'm... I'm going to - " He tried to warn.

Yuuri could tell he was close before he said anything. The urgency in his hips and sounds made it apparent. He had pulled back slightly so he wouldn't choke. He squeezed Victor's balls, giving him harder sucks, trying to push him over the edge.

Victor's fingers gripped more tightly in Yuuri's hair.  He thought Yuuri had been about to come off, at least it felt like he had, the shallower depth contrasting intensely with his need to burry himself as deeply as he could just before...

The rhythm in Victor's hips was lost as they suddenly bucked wildly.  His balls tightening, and clenching as they emptied, Victor came in a burst of pleasure that seemed to ignite every nerve in his body and blur his vision.  His cry of ecstasy same a second after, the sound of the low howl coming so deeply it took a second to roll from his chest outward.

Yuuri felt Victor tense as he came. He held the man's hips so he wouldn't choke him. He closed his eyes, moaning softly as Victor released into his mouth. Yuuri swallowed every bit as he massaged his hips, letting him ride out his high.

Slowly, Victor started to come down.  He felt embarrassingly weak and vulnerable in that moment, having just come, having released himself in his lover's mouth.  If Yuuri had moved to mount him that instant, he wasn't sure he would have been able to resist - not entirely sure he would have wanted to

Catching his breath, he steadily came down, casting a glance down at Yuuri.  With a moment of surprise, he realized that the other man had swallowed all of his release without so much as a complaint.  That was surprising, Victor would have expected someone unfamiliar with the salty, bitter taste to at least have made a face.

"Yuuri..." Victor murmured as he sat up.  The moment his partner would move to sit up as well... Victor would spring on him, throwing his arms around Yuuri as he kissed the other man's lips.  "That was amazing!"

Yuuri sat up, wiping his mouth a little. The taste want terrible. He squeaked in surprise as Victor hugged him. He happily kissed the man back, a blush blooming across his face.

He smiled softly. "Y-yeah? I'm glad you enjoyed it." He chuckled lightly. "I did too." He kissed him again.

Victor could taste himself on Yuuri's lips.  It was interesting, how quickly the flavor of Yuuri's mouth could change in just a day.  He pressed his tongue deeper against Yuuri's lips, gently savoring the flavor of himself and his lover mixing together.

"I enjoyed it very much."  He whispered back, not even separating his lips from Yuuri's as he spoke.  "I want to show you just how much..."

His blush deepened as Victor spoke. God, was he really going to... He kissed the man again, quickly. "Then show me."  He practically whispered the response.

A broad smile stretched across Victor's lips. He Gently pushed Yuuri back, giving himself better access to the other man.  Steadily, he began to kiss his way down Yuuri's body, down his neck, across his pectorals.  He remembered the other man's reaction from before, and let his fingers run over Yuuri's left nipple, while his lips gave the right a quick nip and a lick.  He didn't want to spend too much time on Yuuri's nipples, he was certain the other man was already plenty worked up without having to focus on secondary soft spots.  Continuing his trail of kisses down, Victor left his fingers to massage gentle circles around Yuuri's nipples.  At least, that was until his chin finally reached the waist of Yuuri's pants.

He was in a better position now, and Yuuri's pants were already semi undone from before.  Victor couldn't help but lick his lips as he was finally face to face with his lover's member.  He'd seen it before, whenever they'd bathed in the hot springs, and before... but it was decidedly different now.  Hooking his fingers into the waistband of Yuuri's underwear, Victor carefully pulled the garments down.

Yuuri laid back, his body was shaking with excitement. The adrenaline was rushing big time. He gasped, arching slightly as Victor ran his thumb one his nipple. God, they were so sensitive right now.

Allowing his head to fall back, he mentally followed Victor's kisses down his body. The man's lips were so soft. Probably due to that expensive as fuck lip balm he used, and thank God for it. Yuuri looked up and blushed as his erection was freed from its fabric restraint. He shivered a little, his blush darkening.

Victor pulled Yuuri's pants off the rest of the way off the other man's legs, and cast them casually aside in the general area of their other discarded clothes.  The Yuuri's reactions were so cute, and Victor just couldn't help but adore every little squeak and gasp the other made.  He nuzzled against Yuuri's cock and balls, as he kneaded the other man's inner thigh.  Honestly, Yuuri could be so shy sometimes - blushing at a moment like this, after he'd just done the same thing just a minute ago.  Victor kissed the base of Yuuri's cock, burying his nose in the other man's dark pubic hairs, and inhaling deeply.  He loved this smell... this deep, musky smell that went straight to his head even as hairs tickled his nose.  The weight, and the head of Yuuri's cock on his face felt so good as he let the member drag across his cheek, and a long his nose, smearing a bit of precum just under his eye as he started to raise his head along Yuuri's shaft, planting another line of kisses as he went up.

This wasn't about making Yuuri cum right now.  It wasn't even about teasing the other until he was stirred up in a quiet frenzy - Victor just wanted experience Yuuri's cock like he'd been dreaming about for months.  He just wanted to get to know this part of the man he loved so much, that he hadn't been allowed to familiarize himself with until now.

At last he made his way up to the head of Yuuri's cock, giving the shaft one last, long appreciative lick with the flat of his tongue.   And then, with a soft flush on his own cheeks, he carefully placed a chaste kiss right on the very tip of the head, smearing another bead of precum.

Yuuri tried not to squirm as he watched Victor give his cock his undivided attention. However, watching the man kiss and nuzzle him was hot as hell. He panted softly, the touches and kisses getting him even more worked up than he already was. "V-victor..." He said the man's name not to get his attention, but to reassure himself that this was indeed happening. He had always been so self-conscious about his body, but now... Victor was treating him like he was the most beautiful person in the world.

Victor looked up, just as his lips had descended for a second, more sensual kiss on the head of Yuuri's cock, giving Yuuri a clear view of his crystal blue eyes.  And looking up at Yuuri, Victor couldn't fight the smile that tinged the corners of his lips as his heart ached for the other.  The sound of Yuuri's voice, the lust and the need that had all been fitted into the whisper of his name, the panting of his breath - the smell of Yuuri's man hood and the taste now finding it's way as victor parted his lips and licked a slow circle around the slitted opening at the top:  His entire world now was Yuuri Katsuki.  Yuuri Katsuki was his everything.

He lowered his gaze down again, just as he pressed his head down into Yuuri's lap.

His eyes were closed now as he concentrated, just concentrated on the feeling of Yuuri's cock in his mouth, the taste... the smell, the sounds... sight was too much to add on top of it all too.  Victor bobbed his head up and down a few times, offering Yuuri the friction he knew the other man was needing about now, before bringing one of his hands up to stroke at Yuuri's shaft, concentrating his pressure along the top, right along that sensitive strip of nerves that ran next to the veins.  Actually, he wasn't sure if Yuuri would prefer that over gripping his cock in full, Victor only knew what he liked, and was content to start from there, listening to Yuuri intently as he went to work, figuring out how to please his lover.

The moan that came out of Yuuri's mouth sounded foreign to him. He quickly clamped a hand over his mouth to keep from embarrassing himself further. His other hand fisted the sheets of the bed. It was obvious his inexperience was causing him to be super sensitive to what Victor was doing to him.

Through his hand, he groaned, his eyes rolling back as Victor started to rub his thumb against his shaft. His toes were curling as pleasure shot through him.

Victor gave another few, precise bobs of his head in tandem with his hand, effectively stroking and stimulating the whole thing.  His other hand joined in the fray, as he gently but firmly began to cup Yuuri's balls in his hand, and massage them across his fingertips.  And then, Victor hummed lightly, and pulled his mouth away, just far enough that his lips still glanced across Yuuri's hot, sensitive, soft but hard flesh.

"Bonjour mon cher. Je m'appelle Victor Nikiforov. Je sais que c'est notre première introduction, et ça semble fou, mais je t'aime depuis si longtemps."

And with that his lips were back on Yuuri's cock, bobbing up and down, taking him deeper and deeper into his mouth each time.

Yuuri rolled his hips slightly as his hand started to massage his balls. He let his hand fall from his mouth, panting as he felt his stomach tightening. He blinked in confusion as Victor began to speak. His hazy mind recognized it wasn't Russian, but... French? Did he know Victor could speak French? Whatever language it was, coming from his mouth, it sounded beautiful.

He looked down at him, wondering what exactly he was saying. He had caught Victor's name, but that was it. He was about to ask what he had said when the other's mouth when right back to his cock. Yuuri's words died in a moan as he tried not to buck his hips.

Victor pulled off again, practically moaning the words against the head of Yuuri's cock, panting for air as if he were merely trying to catch his breath.  "Oh, lui? Non. Il ne peut pas nous comprendre."

Bobbing, and sucking, and stroking in such an erotic manner, as if each dip down of his head were a deep, passionate kiss, and with each kiss he welcomed the invading member into his mouth with warm swirls of his tongue all around its length.

"Mais vous ne me tentez pas." He panted, barely separating his lips at all that time. "Car mon cœur appartient à votre maître."

"Mais j'espère que nous pouvons nous entendre, et vous pouvez m'aider à regarder plus profondément dans son amour."  The last bit was said almost entirely around Yuuri's cock, Victor's mouth engulfing it as he finished.  He relaxed his throat, and sank down on Yuuri's shaft deeper, letting his throat continue to hum as he felt the head of Yuuri's cock spear his throat open.

Yuuri groaned in frustration. It was a combination of what Victor was doing and the fact that he had no clue what he was saying. Stupid multilingual Victor. Yuuri chuckled breathlessly. "You could be saying the worst things ever to me right now, and I wouldn't care because it sounds sexy."

As he felt Victor take more of him into his mouth, he sucked in a breath. He tried to keep his hips still, but it was proving difficult. He whimpered softly. "I'm... about to... nnnn"

This wasn't that far off from the plan.  Maybe in the future Victor could have more conversations with Yuuri's penis...  but for now,...

Victor redoubled his efforts on fucking Yuuri with his mouth, sucking steadily as just the tips of two fingers worked vigorously to get Yuuri off, smacking between his own lips the flat of Yuuri's hips as he threw abandon to the wind.   With one hand, still cupping Yuuri's balls, he waited to feel that telltale tightening, that final clench before it was all over - and then he would shove his own head down as far as it would go down on Yuuri's cock, taking him in as deeply as he could and burying his nose in Yuuri's pubic hairs.

Yuuri curled his toes, his hands gripping the shits as he squirmed. He wanted to watch Victor, but he couldn't help but let his head fall back, eyes closed. He held out as long as he could, but he just couldn't any more. He moaned Victor's name loudly as he arched, releasing into Victor's mouth.

Just as Yuuri's cock began to twitch, and Victor felt the splash of cum choking him as it spurts into his throat, he pulled back just enough to suck on the head, drawing out the last spurts of cum onto his tongue.  When it seemed like Yuuri was finished, he carefully let the other man's dick slip from between his lips.  Almost immediately his fingertips were at his own lips, preventing even a drop of cum from spilling as he looked back up at Yuuri.  He wanted to be sure... be sure Yuuri saw him swallowing it.

Yuuri panted hard as he came. His body was tense. He could feel Victor pull back slightly, but he stayed where he was until Yuuri had finished. He cracked his eyes open, trying to relax as he came down from his high.

His eyes settled on Victor. He cocked his head slightly, wondering why he had his finger over his mouth. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of him.

Victor visibly gulped, thickly swallowing all of Yuuri's seed. In a flourish, he let out a satisfied "ah" as he whipped the last bit of cum from his lips.  And now for a word he knew, Yuuri knew.  "Vkusno."  he cooed.

Yuuri blushed, his eyes going wide. "You... " He chuckled, shaking his head. "You are something else, Nikiforov." He smiled and sat up, reaching for him so he could kiss him.

A huge grin spread across Victor's face.  He got up from where he was positioned between Yuuri's knees, and started crawling up the length of the other man.  "Oh?  Is that so?  What kind of something am I then, Yuuri?" He cooed out playfully.

When he was completely on top of Yuuri, his arms supporting him planted down firmly on either side of Yuuri's head, his own hips coming into contact between Yuuri's legs, he beamed down with utter adoration to the man beneath him.  The look in his eyes was soft, loving.  The hints of slyness and teasing gone as he just gazed down at the man he loved so much - who seemed to love him back.

And yes, while Giving Yuuri that playful blowjob, Victor had managed to arouse himself, his own erection stirring back to life.  But at the moment, Victor at least, it was an afterthought.  Even as it pressed against Yuuri's now softening member, he hardly paid it any attention, as he leaned down and kissed Yuuri's lips.

He wrapped his arms around him, pulling him tightly against him as they kissed. Yuuri cupped the back of Victor's neck, tangling fingers in his soft, silver, hair. "Mmm...You are an incredible something. Eccentric and crazy, but incredible." He grinned.

He could feel Victor's member pressing against him. While he knew, he would love to keep going, he just wasn't so sure yet. He opted for tangling their legs and holding the man close.

"Mmm" Victor intoned, loving Yuuri's assessment.  Eccentric and crazy... that was a good step off that pedestal the other man had him on.  A step in the right direction at least.    Now, he just needed to take one more...

"Maybe.  But there's something you need to know, Yuuri."  Victor purred softly, looking deep into those beautiful amber eyes.  "I would never say anything terrible to you.   Not on purpose, and especially not where you couldn't understand.  I love you too much for that.  understand?"

Going any further tonight was the furthest thing from Victor's mind, even as his excitement made manifest pressed against Yuuri's abdomen.

Yuuri blinked in surprise. He had almost forgotten about what he had said before. He smiled softly and nodded. "Thank you..." He chuckled. "I'm curious to know what you said though. I had no idea you spoke French so fluently."

"Oh. I was just introducing myself to your dick."  He said casually, as if that was a normal thing to do while he flopped down on the bed next to Yuuri...  "I figured it was best to do it in French because it has the best throat vibrations."  Victor reached down, and casually began stroking his own cock as it finally started to go down... maybe rubbing his hands across Yuuri's thigh while he was at it.

He gaped at the man. He wasn't...  he couldn't be serious. The longer he stared at him, the more Yuuri was convinced he was being serious. He started laughing, shaking his head."

Victor laughed along with him.  It'd been his intention to amuse Yuuri with the act all along.  He'd taken to idly stroking Yuuri's hip, feeling just where the arc of the bone jutted out between his leg and his stomach.  It was such a small part, such a nuanced curve, but for the moment Victor couldn't help but find it's couture fascinating.

"We need to get some sleep."  He offered, when their laughed seemed to be dying down.  "Our flight is early tomorrow."

He sighed contently, loving the sound of Victor's laugh. The feel of Victor gently rubbing his thigh was wonderful. He pouted a little at the mention of sleep but nodded. "You're right. At least we have time in Hasetsu before the next competition." Oh god... Hasetsu. Yuuri could just imagine Yuuko's face if/when he told her what happened with them.

Victor smiled back.  "Poor Yurio."  he commented idly, moving his hand up to stroke Yuuri's collar bone now.  "He's not going to have any time between NHK and Rostelecom. " And then, he was drawing Yuuri closer.  As the thrill of their shared encounter was fading, Victor was starting to get a little cold, and Yuuri's body was just so warm.

Yuuri curled into Victor. He was getting a little cold now. He nodded. "Yeah... but he will be fine. Yurio... he's determined and won't let anything stand in his way from getting what he wants." Yuuri had experienced that at Hot Springs on Ice, despite the fact that he had won.

Victor gave Yuuri a kiss on his forehead. and he wrapped his arms protectively around his skater.  Sleepiness was starting to set in, the Russian having already stayed up way later than he was accustomed to.

"Yuuri, will you sleep with me tonight?"

Yuuri smiled as Victor's arms wrapped around him. He snuggled into his chest, trying to fight the yawn that was building. He could feel his eyes getting tired. It was amazing how adrenaline could push you beyond your limits.

He nodded into Victor's chest as he asked his question. He didn't hesitate this time. He didn't want to be away from Victor. "I would love to."

Victor gave Yuuri another squeeze, holding him close to his chest and then giving him a kiss on his forehead.

"I'll set an alarm," he offered, and forced himself to pull away from the embrace, so that they could both actually get ready for bed.

Now that Victor actually had a moment to re-orient himself within the context of their surroundings...  he was amazed at how they'd somehow managed to end up upside down in his bed.  Dinner was still half eaten in on its cart near the foot of the bed - but after the exchange of bodily fluids, Victor wasn't really interested in it anymore, more curious on if he should bother covering it up or not.

Detangling himself from Yuuri was something the Platinum blonde man absolutely didn't want to do, and his every touch lingered to the bare maximum it could while he still ended up sliding back to the head of the bed, and grabbing the hotel alarm clock, as well as his own cell phone.  An alarm and a backup - just in case.  Even as he programed the devices with the desired time, he couldn't bring himself to completely separate from Yuuri's legs.

Yuuri laid there, watching Victor as he moved. He glanced around the room and smiled. Clothes were everywhere and their half-eaten dinner was still sitting there. Seemed pretty perfect if you asked him. He saw Victor pick up his phone. That was when it dawned on him. He had forgotten to text Pitchit back.

Keeping his legs tangled with Victor's, he reached for his phone on the bedside table. He pulled up the text from his friend and looked at it for a second. He blushed and typed in a reply. He was about to type yes when he glanced at Victor. He was pretty sure their relationship had just changed drastically, and that was good, but a small part wondered if this was going to be a one or two-time thing. He sighed quietly and typed a reply. -Not sure. Maybe? Will call you when I'm back in Japan. -

He quickly put his phone back where is was and resumed his position of watching Victor, getting comfy.

 

Meanwhile, Victor had successfully already begun tossing a series of taunting texts back and forth with Yurio.  It was his own little way of showing he was worried about the little fluff ball.  But he'd finally told Yurio to go to bed, and he should be following the same advice.

Setting his own phone down, and without a word, Victor reached for Yuuri to pull him back the right way in bed, and get the both of them under the covers.  At the moment, Victor was so content, he didn't notice the flash of insecurity from Yuuri, only kissing his shoulder, kissing his cheek, kissing him, as they positioned themselves in bed.

"I love you Yuuri."  He breathed softly, as his eyes started to flutter closed.

Yuuri immediately curled into him, wrapping his arms around his middle. He hummed softly at the kiss to his shoulder, then kissing him back. He couldn't help the smile at the words he spoke. "I love you too, Victor."

Cuddling as close as possible, he allowed himself to relax into the embrace. He closed his eyes feeling more safe and loved than ever before.

That night, Victor slept well, feeling more warm and happy than he had in a long time.  The bed was smaller than his bed in Japan, but it didn't feel cramped at all even with two people.  Victor was more than happy to share every inch of space with Yuuri, his legs tangling with each other, his arms around the other.  Victor himself preferred to sleep on his back, with his arms and legs sprawled out - but tonight he was more than happy to shift onto his side, to shift and make room for Yuuri.  However, he had to position himself to keep Yuuri in his arms all night long.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> French: (( "Hello my love.  My name is Victor Nikiforov. I know this is our first formal introduction, but I've been such a big fan of yours for such a long time."
> 
> "Oh, him?  no.  he can't understand us."
> 
> "But you are not who tempts me, " ... "for my heart belongs to your Master."
> 
> "Still, I hope we can get along, and you can help me see deeper into his love."))


	3. Chapter 3: Morning After/Back to Hasetsu/Family Talks

Chapter 3

Morning After/Back to Hasetsu/Family Talks

Morning came all too quickly.  Victor reached over and turned off his phone alarm less than a second after it went off.  The hotel alarm was set to go off a minute later, and in that brief moment of quiet Victor turned his attention back to Yuuri, giving the other a tight morning squeeze, and a kiss on his cheek.

Yuuri slept right through the first alarm. What woke him up was the squeeze and kiss Victor gave him. It startled him a little, not being used to sleeping with someone. Quick enough he remembered what had happened the night before. Yuuri blushed lightly as he opened his eyes.

He smiled softly as he saw Victor's beautiful blue eyes. "Morning..." His voice was hoarse from sleep.

"Morning."  Victor cooed, nuzzling Yuuri's ear.  Last night had indeed felt like a dream.  Having the other man sleep in his bed with him had absolutely been the right decision.  A subtle reminder that it had really happened, that he wasn't just dreaming this time.  Victor nuzzled into Yuuri's cheek.

"I didn't mean to wake you."  He said, reassuring his sleeping beauty.  "You still have some time if you want to sleep in a little more."

He smiled, nuzzling him back. He shook his head. "No, no. I… I kinda just want to stay like this for what little time we have left before we need to get ready."

He tightened his arms slightly. "I don't remember the last time I slept so well..."

Victor smiled, his nose buried in Yuuri's hair, just inhaling the scent.  Victor was an early riser, and he had things to do to get ready for the day...  But if Yuuri wanted him to stay...   A little laugh escaped Victor's throat.  Did Yuuri even realize how tightly he had him wrapped around his little finger?

"Maybe we can sleep like this more often?"  He offered.

Yuuri opened his mouth the immediately say now just out of habit, but then he closed it, thinking. "I... my bed is tiny. I wouldn't want you to have share your room if you don't... I mean..." He clammed up. He was rambling. "I would like to if you would."

[He laughed, unable to contain himself as he rubbed Yuuri's sides.  "Of course, I would!  I just asked you to, didn't I?  Besides.  My bed is much bigger than even this one.  There's plenty of room."  he sighed softly, bringing his nose to touch Yuuri's.

"But I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed.  I wanted to see the inside of Yuuri's room.  You never let me in there, and now there are pictures of me?"  he chuckled.  "I want to see which ones?  Which pictures of Victor did Yuuri like best?"

His mouth had gone full heart shape now.

"What other pictures do you have hanging up in there?  Who's my competition?"  he continued to muse lightheartedly.

Yuuri's face went as red as a tomato. No, no, no he hadn't mentioned them, right? Right... crap! "Th-there aren't m-many. Just a couple... I mean I have pictures of everyone... c-cause Pitchit likes taking... taking pictures and gave me some..." Lying. He was lying through his teeth but that was an embarrassment he was so not ready to share with Victor. Maybe he could get Pitchit to actually get him some pictures....

"Oh, I know."  Victor said humming along, giving Yuuri a reassuring pat on the back as he nuzzled him.  "I had posters of all the older figure skaters up in my room when I was young too.  It's pretty normal.  You're probably going to start making friends that have posters of you up in their rooms too you know."

Victor tangled his bare legs with Yuuri's a little bit more under the covers.  It really was nice, just lazing in bed like this, chatting.

Holy crap it worked. He sighed in relief. At the mention of someone having posters of him he raised his eyebrow. yeah right. Like that would ever happen. Well... Minami excluded. Him Yuuri was pretty sure might have one... "Yeah, I'm sure not many people would want me on their wall." He chuckled.

"Well at the very least, I do.  And on my floor, and on my kitchen counter..."

Yuuri gaped at him. He had half a mind to push him out of the bed for that comment. "Yeah okay, maybe you should sleep alone when we get home." He smirked.

"Noo~  Yuu-uurii"  Victore wined clinging and rubbing as much of his body on Yuuri as he could, and chuckling along in good humor.

It was just then the second alarm went off.  Without missing a beat Victor reached over and shut it off, or at least delayed it.  He looked down at Yuuri, not entirely sure when he had rolled on top of the smaller man.

"Well... looks like it's really time to get up."  He kissed the side of Yuuri's face.  "I still have a few things to do.  Do you want me to wake you when I'm out of the washroom?"

Yuuri smiled and nodded. "Sure, that would be great." He should probably get up and pack though. He would figure that out once Victor got started. He kinda felt bad for messing up whatever plans he had.

“Alright."  Victor said softly.  He gave Yuuri another soft kiss, this time to his lips as he finally summoned the strength to pull himself away.  They really Did need to get a move on if they were going to make their flight.

Victor started his morning preparation by inspecting the food that had been left out all night.  He wasn't really thinking about it - just that he needed to get something on his stomach real quick as he picked out a few of the pieces that still looked appetizing and plopped them in his mouth.  Next, he began getting the coffee going.  Figuring out the hotel's particular coffee machine took up most of this time, but the coffee itself was already measured out in its filter and ready to go; Victor just had to pour some water in the machine and off it went.  Then it was back to his own suitcase, to fetch today's pills.  He took them quickly, washing them down with a glass of water before heading into the bathroom to wash up, his toothbrush and morning skin care lotions packed neatly in a little bag.

Yuuri watched him move around the room. He was graceful, almost as much as when he was on the ice. He smiled, knowing that there were some times Victor's gracefulness went away, but those were moments that made him seem more real. While he could probably sleep more, he really didn't want to. He wanted to savor what moments they had left in this room.

Victor's washroom routine wasn't anything unexpected.  Washed his face.  Brushed his teeth.  Brushed his hair -  He frowned.  Was that more of his hair left behind in the brush?  He checked his hairline and the top of his head.  At least there wasn't a balled spot yet, and it didn't seem any further back than he could remember...  How was his skins actual tone?  He wasn't jaundiced at all, was he?  No, but a shave probably wouldn't hurt...

Victor turned on the water for a quick shower.  Waiting for it to get just barely warm enough he slipped in.

Yuuri picked up his phone and looked at as he heard the shower start. He chuckled. Of course, Pitchit wanted more details, but he would call him later. He ended up finding a few articles on the competition yesterday. And here comes the anxiety.

Victor's shower was quick.  He really just wanted to wash himself off so he didn't smell bad on the plane.  There wasn't really any time to enjoy the hot water and breathe in the steam like he wanted... but then again, he was about to go to a place that had the most wonderful bath that he'd ever experienced.  Possibly it was the best bath in the entire world, he considered.

Back out of the shower, he finally put on the first ounce of clothing he'd worn since last night, even if it was just a towel wrapped around his waist and a hand towel to catch the water still dripping from his hair.  Back at the sink, he lathered up his face, and then shaved with steady, confident strokes.  A little bit of aftershave - no cologne for today - again, the plane - And then back out of the wash room with his things.

Oh, Yuuri was still up.  "Yu~uri" He chirped in a sing-song tone.  "Bathrooms all yours if you want"

Yuuri looked up from his phone. He immediately blushed seeing Victor in just a towel. 'Idiot.' He thought. 'You slept all night with him naked, why are you getting flustered about a towel?'

He smiled and hopped up. "Thanks. I want to wash up a little before the plane ride. Don't want to feel extra gross when we get back to Hasetsu."

"Mmm" Victor hummed.  "But that bath is going to feel so nice~ When we get back.  You like cream and sugar in your coffee, don't you Yuuri?"  Victor asked making his way to the coffee machine.  In the time he'd spent in the washroom, the machine had managed to produce about two cups of coffee in its decanter.

Yuuri blinked. Those were two very different subjects in two sentences. He chuckled and nodded. "Yes, I like cream and sugar. Thanks." He smiled. "And yeah I can't wait to get into the onsen. But first... be right back." He ducked into the bathroom to wash off.

Victor smiled as Yuuri disappeared.  He poured himself a cup of coffee, and left it black.  The second cup he poured in cream and sugar, stirred it around.  He was almost certain Yuuri wasn't going to be back out immediately, so Victor took this time to start cleaning up their room - backing their bags up for them, and getting dressed himself.

Yuuri washed up as quickly as he could. He had the forethought to grab his clothes for the trip home. He slipped into them and exited the bathroom.

Immediately he went for the coffee, taking a long sip. "Mmmm" He smiled as the warm liquid did its job. "Thank you for this."

By now, Victor was finished with his coffee.  He'd taken the liberty of packing not only his own things - but Yuuri's as well.  Dressed and ready to go, he approached Yuuri, giving his cheeks a soft caress.

He wasn't entirely sure what Yuuri was thanking him for, so he ignored it for now.  "Are you ready?"

Yuuri hummed, leaning in slightly to the touch. He nodded. "Yeah, I think so." He glanced at the bags. "Thanks for doing that... I probably should have thought to pack last night but with everything that happened..."

He trailed off, happily thinking about what had distracted him from packing. More importantly, who had distracted him.

Victor Chuckled, remembering the night himself as he drew closer to Yuuri.  "It was nothing."  he gestured. "The packing.  I mean.  Last night was... " Victor hummed... "Last night was everything..."

Victor could have gotten lost looking down into Yuuri's eyes, that warm amber fire drawing him in.   Ah.  But they really did need to get to the airport, didn't they?

"I just hoped I packed everything to your liking.  I think I remembered what went in checking and what went in carry on."  He mused lightly, pulling himself away so that he could pick up his own bags.

Yuuri made a sound of protest as he pulled away. He quickly grabbed his arm with his free hand and pulled him back, kissing him gently but with passion behind it.

He smiled, a soft blush blooming on his cheeks. "I'm sure everything is perfect. And last night was everything to me too."

It always shocked Victor, when Yuuri took the initiative like that.  His eyes were wide when they'd kissed but, his whole expression happily melted as he returned the gesture. He really liked this side of Yuuri.

No, not 'liked' that wasn't the word...

"...I love you, Yuuri..."

Did they really have to go to the airport?  Did they have to catch their flight?  Maybe they could stay just a little bit longer.

Now Victor didn't seem to want to move, or pull away from Yuuri in the slightest.  Even after their kiss the taller man lingered.  The hand Yuuri had grabbed fell to his lover's hip, the far hand caressing Yuuri's cheek.  He really couldn't stop touching the other man, could he.

Yuuri's eyes sparkled at those words. He smiled, leaning into Victor's touch. "I love you too." He closed his eyes, soaking it all in.

Once he opened them he chuckled. "We really need to get going... pretty sure the plane won't wait for us."

"Let’s just fly back tomorrow."  Victor urged, realistic plans being thrown casually by the wayside.  "We can stay here today and make love all day long!"

Yuuri couldn't help but laugh. It sounded completely ridiculous and yet so tempting. "Oh, I wish." He shook his head calming his laughter. "But I guarantee you if we don't show up Minako will be here in a heartbeat."

"You're probably right. I don't even want to think about what Mari will do to me if I don't bring her little brother back, safe and sound."  Victor laughed.  But he still couldn't pull himself away.

Yuuri chuckled. "I dunno... she knows probably more than anyone how much I adore you so she would know I died happy." He grinned

"Then we're in agreement!" Victor proclaimed as he leaned down. "Let's just stay here and go straight to heaven."  He placed a deep, passionate kiss against Yuuri’s lips, that begged to go deeper.

Yuuri squeaked into the kiss. He kissed back just a little before pulling back, gently pushing him away. "No, no, no. We really need to go."

He smiled and stepped to the side. "Trust me, your idea sounds amazing buuuuut we gotta be somewhat responsible." He walked over to their bags, grabbing one.

Well, victor couldn't say he wasn't a little disappointed, but he was still so happy, his mod soaring so high, who knew what if his face showed anything but pleased as he trotted away to pick up his bags.

"Alright. Davai". He cheered, moving to open the door, and waiting for Yuuri's to follow

They checked themselves out and hailed a cab to the airport. This was all old hat to them both. They paid for the cab and checked in at the airport.

Yuuri flopped in a seat at their gate. He couldn't wait to get back home and relax for a day or so before they got back to training.

Victor went and spoke to the gate attendant while Yuuri sat down.  He had to secure their tickets - make sure they were sitting next to each other.  They had booked at the same time, so they should have been seated next to each other, but it never hurt to check and be sure - and sure enough, while the airline had kept their preferences for window and isle respectively, they had moved Victor's seat further back in the plane.  The flight wasn't terribly full, so they were able to shift things around to put the two of them back together, but it took a bit of re-arranging of some of the other single passengers.  Fixed with their new seat assignment, Victor returned to where Yuuri had found a seat, and plopped down in the chair next to him.

Yuuri looked over as Victor sat down. "Everything okay with the tickets?" He had noticed that he had spoken with the attendant a little longer than normal.

"Mmn."  He intoned, presenting Yuuri with one of the two new tickets printed out.  "They changed our seats. We're still sitting together, just a little further back."  He offered Yuuri his new ticket.  It was still a window seat, just, as Victor said, a little bit further back on the plane.

Yuuri took the ticket, looking at the seat number. "That's okay. I really don't mind where we sit on the plane." He looked at him and grinned. "I'm sure you wouldn't want to sit without your human pillow."

"Hmm..  A human pillow... isn't that a Japanese thing?"  Victor pondered aloud, leaning in to press Yuuri as if he were teasing him about the idea. "You know, one of those full-sized pillows with an anime person printed on it, looking all hot and bothered?  I wonder, does Yuuri have one of those?"

Yuuri leaned back slightly. "Eh?!" He flushed one at the closeness and two at the query about him owning one. What he prayed Victor never EVER found out was that yes, Yuuri owned one... With Victor on it. It had been a gag gift from Pitchit, but Yuuri had slept with it every night since. Well, until the real thing sauntered into his life, as well as when he was away for competitions.

He shook his head fiercely. "No, no, no."

Victor couldn't help but laugh.  hard.  He doubled over as he laughed at the other man's extreme reaction, all that embarrassment, all that fluster.  It was such a strong rejection it almost made Victor wonder if he actually did have one hidden away in that little room of his.

He pat Yuuri on the knee.  "Well, even if you are an excellent pillow.  It still makes sense I'd want to sit next to my boyfriend over a long flight, right?"

His hand lingered, left in place on Yuuri's knee.  ... Was this alright?  They were a couple now, right?  Victor knew Japanese people didn't like showing as much affection publicly as Russians did.  He knew walking arm in arm was right out with his Japanese boyfriend - especially Yuuri, who got so embarrassed so easily... but this was alright, wasn't it?  Leaving his hand there?  Just yesterday he wouldn't have questioned it, knowing full well he was sneaking a touch in.  But he wasn't sneaking this.  Yuuri knew how he felt now... ... was this still okay?

Ah, there his face went being all red again. The title and the touch were almost overwhelming. He smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Boyfriend huh?"

He placed his hand over Victor's, hoping to let him know that he loved it being there. He leaned into him a little. "It does make sense. I wouldn't have it any other way." He practically beamed at the man.

Victor breathed a breath of relief.  He shifted his hand, turned it so he could interlock his fingers with Yuuri, and rested his head on Yuuri's.

Victor would hold Yuuri's hand every chance he got after this.  When they got up to board the plane, during the flight, as they were walking home...  Even when Minako came to greet them at the Narita Airport, so they could take the train the rest of the way to Hasetsu.

Yuuri was practically clinging to Victor's hand as they made their way the Yutopia. He noticed the looks that Minako were slipping them. Most importantly their hands. He knew they would have to explain themselves.

Yuuri succeeded in making idle chit chat with Minako. Mostly they talked about the competition, which did wonders for Yuuri's nerves about the upcoming Rostelecom Cup.

He practically melded into Victor's side as they came closer and closer to home. What would they say about what happened after his free skate? What would they say about the fact that they are now dating?

As they walked the rest of the way home, Victor noticed a few eyes fall on himself and Yuuri.  No more than he was used to, walking around Japan however.  A tall White-blonde Russian was still a tall white-blonde Russian whether he was holding a cute young man's hand or not, he supposed.  None of the noted gazes seemed hostile, or disturbed - just curious.  And Victor gave them a polite smile whenever he noticed, especially when Minako and Yuuri devolved into talking Japanese.

Even when they spoke English he preferred to listen for now.  Minako's input was valuable as one of Yuuri's former teachers, and as a fan who had been there to see it all.  He considered, he should probably go out drinking with her again sometime now that they were back, but he didn't miss the furtive glances she kept giving them, or the way she was eyeing their hands, fingers locked tight and intertwining with each other.  At this rate, he was just as likely to get his ear chewed off.  Victor just smiled and continued listening.  Maybe he deserved to have someone close to Yuuri give him a tongue lashing - it was just further proof that they were really accepting him as part of Yuuri's life, wasn't it?

The moment the trio arrived back at Yutopia, Yuri's mother welcomed them with open arms.  "Yuuri!  Welcome home!"  She cheered, brightly.

Yuuri smiled brightly as soon as he heard his mom. He took a step towards her, for the first time feeling comfortable enough to be away from Victor's side. He let go of his hand and hugged the woman. "Thanks mom. I'm glad to be home."

He stepped back towards Victor, glancing at Minako who was still looking at him funny. He figured she would say something soon.

"And Victor! Welcome home!"  She said in her heavily accented English as she turned to the Russian man.

Victor gave her a hug in return "Okasan!  Tadaimaaaaaa-" And he was, a little shocked as the stout Japanese woman gave him a familial kiss on one cheek, and then the other.  The second, he was present enough to return.

She backed away beaming Brightly.  "Oh Victor.  Your Japanese, very good!"  She cooed, clapping to encourage him.   And then Her attention fell to Minako as she offered a hug to the family friend.  "Thank you so much for escorting them here Mina-chan~ Yuuri's so lucky he can count on you!" She said, slipping back into her more comfortable native tongue.

Minako was still eyeing Yuuri. "Of course." She looked at Hiroko and smiled. "Gotta make sure our boy gets home safe and sound." Her head whipped back to Yuuri who stiffened, slightly inching his hand back to Victor's.

"Alright, Yuuri. Victor. You two have some explaining to do. I'm guessing something happened between you two considering you kissed on international television AND Yuuri, you have been practically attached to him since I saw you at the airport. So spill."

Yuuri knew it was coming. He was just glad she had only confronted them when it was just her and mom around. "Um, well you see, t-the thing is...."

Hiroko just smiled and started taking their baggage, fussing over them the way a mother did.  The question was too complex for her limited English to really understand.

Victor, however, knew exactly what was being asked of them.  But like Yuuri's mother, he just kept smiling.  Confidently, he reached out to take Yuuri's hand in his again.  Truth be told, it wasn't his place to tell Yuuri's friends and family about their change in status.  Even if he'd been the one to initiate the kiss, if he'd been the one to confess to Yuuri, if he'd been the one to confirm that they were still together and that the single night hadn't just been one magical affair - it still wasn't his place to step in and tell them how things had changed.

But he was still there for Yuuri.  He was backing him up, regardless of how Yuuri chose to answer.  And frankly, his answer was as interesting to Victor as it was to Minako.

Yuuri sent Victor a glare as he simply took his hand with no comment and that shit eating grin. Useless. That's what he was. He sighed and looked back at Minako and began to speak in fast Japanese.

"You saw the kiss. Well when got back to the room we ended up um talking for a little bit. Then we decided to go see a movie and did that and then we came back to have dinner and t-talked more and we decided that we are together now. As in boyfriends."

He panted a little as he finished. He stared at her, trying to read her face. He couldn't. He didn't even want to dare look at his mother. What did she think?

Minako was shocked to say the least. Well not really. Just that it had finally happened. She looked at Yuuri, and with her most serious voice she asked him "Are you happy?"

Yuuri blinked in surprise. He nodded and replied back, "More than ever. "

Minako smiled softly and pulled him into a tight hug. As she released him, she shoved him behind her and glared her most ferocious glare at Victor. In clear English, she spoke "Hurt him and die."

From behind them, as she heard her son prattle off the sequence of events in a faster dialect than she'd ever heard him speak before... her face steadily lit up.  She beamed with delight, and happily clapped her hands together in a small celebration behind them.  Her son finally met someone!  Sure, it was shocking... but Yay!  Finally!

Victor, meanwhile... gave a blank expression as Yuuri had given his response in Japanese.  Aw... he didn't get to hear any of it...  But whatever he'd said... it seemed to work out, if the reactions of the women around them was any indication.  He'd started to smile again, when Minako had given her sharp warning.

"Wow... Scary."  He blinked.

"Yuuri, that's wonderful!"  his mother continued, coming up to give her son another warm pat on the back, and maybe a hug if Minako would let go of him.  She leaned in to speak to him more softly.  "This is something you've wanted for a long time, isn't it?  I'm so happy for you."

Yuuri thought he might die from embarrassment at Minako... or Victor might die first. He really wasn't sure which. He blinked in surprise when his mother came over. Tears welled up and he hugged the woman tightly. "I have..." He whispered. "I'm glad you're okay with this."

 

Minako looked back at the two and smiled. "Well on that note, I'm gonna head out. Yuuri, don't expect me to go easy on you while you're here. We gotta get you ready for Russia."

Yuuri smiled and nodded. "Hai!!"

Too caught up in cooing over her son, Hiroko didn't have much more for Minako other than a loving wave and a "come back soon."  Fussing over her son, with a loving pat on the back as she embraced him.  "Of course, I'm okay with this.  I've known you since you before you were even born, and this is just more of you.  Don't tell me you were scared that I wouldn't be, were you?"

"Ah, Minako-sensei... wait up."  Victor said, following after her and out the door.  The Russian actually had a request of his own to make of the Japanese Ballerina.

"Ah..." He blushed furiously. "I honestly don't know. I didn't know what you'd think. Heck I barely know what to think." He chuckled, smiling sheepishly.

Minako turned as she heard her name. This was curious. She placed a hand on her hip as she considered the Russian. "What's up?"

[Hiroko couldn't help but chuckle at her son, and reach up and muss his hair just like she'd done countless times when he was small.  "I'm sure you'll figure it out."  She assured him.   "You always do..."

It was then that she gave a careful look around.  Eyeing the inn's entrance way to make sure they were the only two in there.  Her husband was away, attending other hotel details, no guests were about this time of day...  But just in case she gestured hurriedly to the suitcases Victor had left behind as he had left to go chase Minako down.  "Help me with these, will you?  There's something else I want to talk to you about..."

___

Outside, Victor took a deep breath, and released it slowly to calm his own nerves.  "I need your help."  He began.  "I need you to teach me... " He clarified.

"I don't know how much Yuuri explained about what happened but... before we..."  Victor struggled to find the words.  He scratched the back of his head and looked away.  "Before we 'became close' ... before his free skate...   I completely failed him, as a coach."

His brows knitted together, furrowing in a scowl.  "It ended up working out in the end, but when he needed motivation I completely didn't know what to do.  I thought I could get by mimicking what all my coaches did, but it's obviously a lot more complicated than that.  You told me just now not to hurt him, and I understand that - but if you really mean it, then tell me how I can be better for him.  Are there any books I can read?  Any tips you can give?  How should I deal with an anxiety attack? How should I motivate him when he's feeling blue?  What is it I'm doing wrong?"

Yuuri nodded and immediately went to grab some of the bags.

Minako was surprised to say the least. That was the last thing she expected from the man. And honestly... he made it her feel a little more at ease about what Yuuri had just told her. She knew better than anyone what Victor meant to him and she didn't want to see him get hurt after all of this.

She smiled softly. "The thing about Yuuri is that when he is anxious he needs to sort things out himself. However, he also needs to know you are there for him. The kid doesn't want anyone to perceive him as weak and his anxiety is his biggest weakness. He doesn't want to lean on other and work things out for himself so by just being there, believing that he can do it, that helps him more than anything."

She thought for a moment. "That will help with your coaching too. You a know what he needs as a skater. Yuuri trusts you. The more you show him that you trust him and his decisions the easier I think things will become. If you want, I have a couple of books that might help. They focus on mental illnesses and ways friends and family can help without being too intrusive."

Victor listened, intently, to everything she had to say.  Every piece of advice she offered.  Some of it was the same Yuuri had told him directly, other bits of it were slightly more insightful.

"I've read a lot of books on depression."  He told her, "And a lot about anorexia and bulimia and how to avoid those pitfalls..."  He tapped his chin as he thought out loud.  "But I'm just not used to anxiety... it's such a different beast than I expected."

He shook his head.  "Any books you can lend me would be truly appreciated."

___

As they began carrying the bags upstairs, Hiroko decided it was a good time to have this particular discussion with her son.  She had seen the kiss along with the rest of the family on live TV.  She'd listened as they all talked and gossiped afterward, talked with her husband long and hard as they decided where they stood on the issue...  ... and through it all there had been just one thing nagging at the back of her mind.   One thing that Victor himself hadn't done to assuage her in the slightest upon their return.

"Yuuri," She began.  "Everyone is basically happy for you two.  And everyone is going to have questions.  Some people are going to have a lot to say, and some people not so much.  You have a lot of people who love you dearly, and even the people who have some not so nice things to say, are saying what they are out of a place of love."

She started up the stairs, carrying Victor's suitcase up the steps one step at a time.  "And I know for a fact, more than a few people are already planning to give Vic-chan the business on your behalf, But...  It occurs to me... ...I don't know if anyone is planning on giving you the business on his."

And now... now at the top of the stairs, in the part of the inn that was for the family and not for guests, "He up and moved here with just a few boxes and his dog.  He never calls anyone on his phone, there aren't any pictures of anyone in his room, and he clings to me just a little too much.  He's a foreigner, so it's cute because he probably doesn't know what he's saying... but he's been calling me 'mama' practically since the day he arrived...  it makes me worry, you know?  He's like a child who comes from a bad home..."

And there they were, at Victor's room, and what had formerly been the private banquet room.  "My point is - I think he's more delicate than people realize.  So, if you're serious about dating him, you need to be sure you put all that childish stuff about him being a hero and being an idol away.  He's just another person, Yu-chan.  He gets hurt just like everyone else.  Don't expect him to be better than he is."

Minako smiled and nodded. She stepped towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The fact that you are asking me about this shows that you know him better than I think you suspect." She smiled softly. "I will gladly give you some books on the subject. Just keep in mind that everyone is different and what works for someone may not work for someone else."

She pulled him into a tight hug. "I know you'll take care of our boy."

___

Yuuri sat on Victor's bed, listening to his mother. He had actually had similar thoughts about Victor. He had always wondered how it was so easy for him to come here out of the blue.

He nodded. "I know..." He chuckled. "I think sometime before my first competition with him I realized I was going to have seen him as someone other than skater I idolized for all those years." He looked at Hiroko and smiled softly. "You don't have to worry about how I see him. Not now anyways."

He sighed softly. "I've been kind of afraid to ask him if he has anyone back in Russia. The only people I know about are Yurio and Yakov, his coach. How would I even bring that up with him?"

Victor hadn't quite been expecting the hug.  Despite the fact that he was now developing quite the reputation as a hands-on kind of guy, he wasn't actually all that used to physical contact initiated by other people - by women least of all.  But, his tense muscles soon relaxed, and he returned the hug with warm affection.

Minako was like a second mother to Yuuri and everyone knew it.  Not only that, she was the mother who Victor could actually communicate with, and who understood first-hand the drive and goals of a professional athlete.  And if he had her approval...

What was that, wedding bells in the background?

"Yes Sensei, I'll take the best care of him!"

___

"Oh, well that's easy." She hummed lightly, setting Victor's suitcase down and joining her son on the edge of the bed.  "Just ask him!  Sometime when you're alone with him and you don't have anything else to talk about - just say 'Victor, you never talk about yourself.  Tell me about your family' " She laughed into her hand then,  "Of course, you two probably never have a moment where you don't have anything to say, do you?"

"If that's the case, then don't push it.  Just listen to what he does say.  I'm sure he'll tell you himself if it's important."

Minako smiled and bid him good night, turning to head towards her place.

___

Yuuri nodded. It sounded so simple. He smiled, blushing a little. "Not really... but I'll keep that in mind."

He hugged his mom gently. "Thanks mom. You are the best."

Waving goodbye to Minako, Victor turned to head back inside.  He started to look around for Makkachin, noticing now that the dog's absence was a little unusual.  Now that he thought about it, where was his furry little companion to greet him?  ((I figure the answer is probably on a walk with Mari.  Would explain where they both are))

___

Hiroko gave her son another comforting pat on the back.  "You're flattering me too much Yuuri.  I'm the one supposed to be praising you!  Now.  What do you want for dinner, hm?  You must be hungry, right?   -Oh, Did Victor say if silver counted as a 'win'?  It'd be nice to make you your favorite tonight."

She got up from the bed, and started heading toward the door.

Yuuri laughed and nodded. "I would count making the podium a win." He got up and stretched, following after her. He figured he would go find Victor, assuming he was finished speaking with Minako about.... whatever he wanted to talk to her about.

Yuuri could find Victor wandering the common rooms of the inn, peeking in to see if there was any sign of the Auburn poodle.   When Victor caught sight of Yuuri, he steadily approached him, not missing a beat as he reached out for his hands.  "Ah.  Yuuri.  Have you seen Makkachin anywhere?  I thought she would have greeted us at the door..."

Toshio popped his head through his window. "I believe Mari took him out for a walk just before you boys arrived. They should be back soon."

Yuuri smiled and nodded. "Thanks dad."

"Arigato Otou-san~" Victor hummed along.  For the time being, he kept his hands in his pockets, and a pleasant smile planted firmly on his face, waiting to see if Yuuri's father hung around to chat, or leave the boys to themselves.

Toshio went back to work as there were a few customers around. Yuuri looked at Victor and smiled. "Did you catch Minako in time?"

Almost as soon as he was gone, one of Victor's hands snuck out from his pockets, and he quietly reached for Yuuri's hand.  Looking down at Yuuri, he couldn't help but let a soft smile wash over him. 

"Yup.  She's going to lend me some books."

"How did things go with your mom?"  He asked idly, starting to lead them to someplace more comfortable instead of in the middle of the hall.  "She seemed really happy with whatever you said before... ...what did you say before?"

Yuuri nodded. He chuckled. "Oh she was. I pretty much told them about us. Nothing specific of course, but they know we are together now." He squeezed his hand gently. "My mom loves you, you know? She is really happy for us."

Even if they were still in the middle of the hall, Victor couldn't resist.  "That's Wonderful!"  He cheered as he threw his arms around Yuuri.

And then, taking on a more cavalier tone as they continued on, his arms still tight around Yuuri's shoulder.  "I'm a little bit relieved you know?  I was afraid we were going to have to sit everyone down and have a big coming out moment - but it seems like everyone pretty much was able to figure it out right away.  I wonder if that's why I haven't seen people really talking about it on social media..."  he mused out loud, using his free hand to fetch his phone from his pocket as he gave twitter a quick scan over.

Yuuri raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He chuckled. "Nah, I mean, I'm not popular enough for the media to care and I've never... dated anyone so I figure people assume I'm gay or loner. Or both. Which may not be far off."

He smiled, wrapping his arms around Victor's waist. "My family just wants me to be happy and they know that you make me happy. Even Yuuko has said she's seen this spark in me she hasn't seen since we were kids."

Victor put his phone away just as quickly as he'd pulled it out.  There had, actually, been a few whisperings about their on-air kiss - speculation about when the two of them had gotten together, but nothing Victor had any mind to reply to, and absolutely nothing he'd bring up to Yuuri.

"That's good." Victor hummed along, giving a soft laugh as he considered, "Maybe they knew where we were headed before we did."

Yuuri laughed. "Who knows. And besides it is none of their business, right?" He grinned and pulled Victor close, leaning in to kiss him softly.

Every time...  Every time Yuuri did that... it came as a complete surprise to Victor.  He leaned down into the kiss, returning it happily.    They'd kissed how many times since yesterday, and it still left Victor's heart fluttering, and the faintest of blushes dusting his cheeks.  Even a soft kiss like that, and Victor's heart was skipping beats.

When the kiss had come to its natural conclusion, looking down lovingly at the younger man, Victor's mind had to step back, and remember what they had just been talking about... "Mmn.  No.  I don't suppose it is."

"But you do know what this means.  Both of us have been slacking if we're that predictable to anyone."

Yuuri laughed. "Okay, I know you're all about surprises, but trust me, despite all of the speculation, once people know for sure there will be a big to do. I mean, I can guarantee you that I will get slammed for stealing -The Victor Nikiforov- away from all of the eligible men and women in the world." He nuzzled him. "But they can talk all they want because none of that matters to me. All that matters is that you are happy."

Okay the thought of everyone bashing him was terrifying. It shouldn't bother him but it probably would. They would scrutinize himself, his home, his skating... everything. He just had to stay strong and not let it bother him too bad.

"Seriously?  You two are so cute it’s sickening..."  Came a sudden interjection into their conversation.

 

Immediately the critique was subsumed by the sound of paws clattering against the hardwood floor and an eager bark as the hound was let loose.

"Makkachin!"  Victor cheered, turning his attention away from Yuuri.  He knelt down to his dog's level, just as the beast got close enough to jump on him.  A small sniff and a lick to Victor - and then Makkachin turn and jumped up putting his front paws on Yuuri so that he could say hello.

Behind them, Mari lazily folded up the leash she had just released the dog from. She smelled of cigarette smoke and bleach, as usual, her curly hair tied back with a bandanna.

Yuuri jumped at the sound of his sister's voice. He smiled as Victor focused on his dog. They were so cute together.

"Oh!" He laughed, hugging Makkachin as he jumped up on him. "Hey. I missed you too." He hugged the dog, nuzzling his fur.

It took Makkachin several sniffs, taking in al the scents Yuuri had acquired in his absence, before he was satisfied.  Victor contented himself to pet the dog's haunches, running his fingers through the soft curling hairs.  Next Makkachin turned his attention back to Victor.  There were more smells than the dog had initially accounted for - a blending of odors the beast found particularly interesting as he sniffed and licked at his Master's face.  He raised a paw up on Victor's shoulder.

Mari approached lazily, slinking toward them as she spoke.  "So how long have you two actually been together?"  She asked, speaking in Japanese.  She knew enough English that she could have spoken in a language Victor understood as well, making the choice to stick to her native tongue a deliberate one.  She was asking Yuuri.

Listening to the Anastasia soundtrack on the drive and we are on Once Upon a December and I know there is a Russian version and Yuuri is just like "I should learn that..." XD

Yuuri looked at her, blushing a little. He relied back in Japanese. "Since after the competition. I assume you saw what happened after my free skate. That kinda sparked a long-needed conversation."

"Everyone saw what happened after your free skate.  The cameras were still on.   Does that mean you weren't together before that?  I kind of figured you already were, but don't tell me that was your first kiss."  She said flatly, leaning against the wall and crossing one arm across her chest.

Victor looked up, listening to the two siblings converse but the conversation itself going way over his head.  Yuuri didn't seem nervous though, but Mari didn't seem quite as happy as Hiroko had been, or as threatening as Minako had been.

Yuuri's face got redder, but mostly in annoyance though he kept his tone even. "No, we weren't together before. Yes, that was our first kiss." He frowned a little. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?"  She repeated, turning the question over in her head.  Her eyes fell down on Victor, inspecting and scrutinizing him as the Russian just blinked clueless up at her. She sighed.  "I you're too lucky for your own good."  She sighed, taking a deep breath.  "None of my idols have ever wandered in here, declared they were here to make my dreams come true and then steadily tried to woo me for months.  Not to mention how good looking he is... it's really going to make my own mixers and omiai that much more disappointing."

 

Victor wasn't sure why she was scrutinizing him... ... but he'd definitely picked up the change in tone from Yuuri.  He stood back up, reaching out to touch Yuuri's arm.  "What's going on?"  He asked softly, not really wanting to interrupt - but... ... wanting to derail the situation if something bad was going down...

"You're right. I may be too lucky for my own good. But I didn't ask for him to come. I didn't expect any of this. Hell, I don't deserve any of this."

He was not going to get upset. He looked at Victor and shook his head. He switched to English. "Nothing. Just filling Mari in on everything. Come on, let's do grab a table. Dinner should be ready soon." He patted Makkachin and headed into the dining room.

Victor and Makkachin both followed along behind Yuuri to the dining area.  He looked back giving Mari a curious glance as he tried to wrap his head around the situation.  She didn't look angry, exactly, but her expressions were probably the hardest in the whole family to read...

"Hey, don't just walk off while we're talking."  Mari complained still in Japanese, following along behind, Besides.  I never said you didn't deserve it.  Just that it's pretty incredible."  Her eyes narrowed steadily on Victor.  "Besides, aren't you worried about it even a little?  He's supposed to be your Coach."

Yuuri sighed and looked over at her, nodding. "I am. I really am, but... he makes me happy. And...  and he said he loves me. I just... gods, I may be selfish but I love him too. More than just an idol. I've gotten to know him and he's... he's just... Victor now. Not the skating legend. I know everyone is going to come after me when they find out. But... I don't want to care what everyone thinks. My family though is another story."

"So you're not worried that he's taking advantage of you?"

Victor looked between the two siblings.  He definitely heard his name.  And the word 'love' a lot.  Making an attempt to join in the conversation, Victor put his arm around Yuuri's waist.  "Hai. Boku wa Yuuri Aishiteru!" He proclaimed in Bad Japanese ((Transl;, Yes, I love Yuuri))

Which... did not amuse Mari.  Her expression completely flattened.  "Victor."  She stated in English, cutting to the chase.  "Come with me."  She surged forward, Grabbing Victor by the sleeve as she pushed between the two men, dragging them the rest of the way into the dining room, and then sitting them down formally at one of the traditional tables.

[He shook his head at Victor's reply. Definitely not the right time to blurt that out. Yuuri blinked as she took Victor. "Uh..."

He hurried after them. Minako might be all bark but Mari... Mari was the bite.

Mari brought her fist down hard on wooden Chabudai, shaking the soy sauce and seasoning containers left on in its center.  Her posture was intimidating, her shoulders square as she leaned forward with an unshaking wave on the platinum blonde man.  She wasn't in the mood to take any of his shit.

"What are your intentions toward my little brother?!"

 

... And Victor's mind drew a blank...

Yuuri stood stock still. Yep, that's what he expected. Poor Victor... he was in for it.

He slowly made his way to the table and sat beside Victor.

Victor still wasn't sure how to respond.  Even taking a second to process the question... it was a pretty good question to ask.  He glanced over at Yuuri, relieved the other man had sat beside him, and comforted a bit as Makkachin took a seat on the other side, quickly deciding to lay down in easy petting range.  While he idly stroked Makkachin's back, he touched his own lips, trying to figure out how to answer...

His real intention was clear as day to himself.  He loved Yuuri.  He wanted to be with Yuuri.  He would accept being with Yuuri in any way he could, but if it was completely up to him they would be lovers forward and back by now, and planning the rest of their life together. But... and his brows furrowed as he considered... he'd only actually been with Yuuri for a single day.  Yuuri was shy, and private, and nervous, and might get overwhelmed if he just declared right now that he wanted to spend every day of the rest of his life with the man - but saying halfhearted answers like all the things he wanted to do to Yuuri still, was inappropriate to say to his family.

Where was the balance?  Where was the answer that expressed how he really felt but didn't frighten or anger anyone...?

Meanwhile, Mari did not like how long it was taking him to answer.  Her fist had slid to clench down on the edge of the table, her knuckles steadily getting whiter and whiter the longer he didn't answer, her teeth starting to grind together.

"Mari..." He spoke with a defiant yet respective tone. Yuuri decided to put Victor out of his misery. "We just decided to try a relationship beyond coach and student. Let's give it a little time before he has to answer that, okay?"

He honestly wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. The coaching was only supposed to be until the Grand Prix if Yuuri managed to qualify. But for now he would try and at least be Victor's equal in this part of their relationship.

Mari wasn't satisfied with Yuuri's answer, and it showed on her face.  She opened her mouth to speak up Victor was finally ready with his own answer.

Yuuri sitting next to him had emboldened him, and looking at Yuuri, listening to Yuuri, made it all so clear.  He reached over and took Yuuri's hand in his.  "Mm.  It's too early to say - but for now, my intentions are Yuuri's intentions.  I want what he wants and we're starting from there."

"That's not good enough!"  Mari snapped back. "How do we know you're not just using him to advance your own career?!"

Victor tilted his head to the side, again thrown for the loop by the conversation.  "What?  How would that even work?"

"And what about him being your student?! He looks up to you! What happens when you're not coaching him anymore?  What happens when you take on other students! Are you going to take advantage of them too and seduce them?"

"What?  No!  Of course not - I'd never-"

"How are we supposed to believe anything you say?!  You obviously have no sense of being a professional.  What is it you're really after here! Are you going to take advantage of them too and seduce them?"

"What?  No!  Of course not - I'd never-"

"How are we supposed to believe anything you say?!  You obviously have no sense of being a professional.  What is it you're really after here!"

Yuuri couldn't speak. There were no words. He hadn't expected this kind reaction at all. In all honesty, he was touched with his sister's protectiveness. However, he was also protective of Victor.

"M-Mari!" He glanced at Victor, trying to read what was going through his head.

Victor himself was taken aback. He didn't know what to say.  Some of it hit too close to home, sinking in him like daggers.  But most of it, the vast majority... just wasn't true and he didn't know what else to say except flat out denial...

So he'd go with that.  Flat out denial.  Victor smiled.  "Don't you think you're projecting a little?  Shouting that out in front of everyone?"

"Oh god..." Yuuri moaned into his hands. He was pretty sure he was about to win shortest relationship ever because his sister was about to murder Victor.

"Look... Victor has been nothing but supportive since he came. He hasn't done anything to warrant distrust." He sighed. "Please Nee-san, please trust my decision."

Mari may indeed have been... about to fly across the table and wipe that shit eating grin off the Russian's too pretty face with her fist... until Yuuri spoke.  She settled back down, regaining her composure.

"I trust you, Yuuri."  She sighed, and gave a pointed look to Victor... who was playing with his dog now, almost completely ignoring the conversation.

"I just want to understand..."  She finally admitted.  "I just want to hear him say he's not just playing around with you."

Yuuri glanced at Victor. He wouldn't mind hearing that as well. Yuuri nudged him gently.

"What's to understand?"  Victor murmured, half pulling Makkachin into his lap.  "If my words have any meaning to them, I already said it at the very beginning.  I love Yuuri. He's the world to me."

Yuuri blushed lightly and looked at Mari. He hoped that would be enough for now. He squeezed Victor's hand gently.

There was, a certain innocence to what Victor said, that Mari couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed for bringing the whole thing up.  Besides, it was hard to argue the way Victor looked at Yuuri when he turned, returning the light hand squeeze.

"Well... if you really mean it..."  She started, “Then I guess I'll accept it for now.  But I'm going to be watching."

A real smile crossed Victors lips as he nodded, and his arm slid from holding Yuuri's hand, to wrapping around his waist.  "Mn.  Please do."  He said more confidently now.

Yuuri smiled at his sister. He did appreciate her looking out for him. He allowed his shoulders to relax, holding on tightly to Victor's hand.

Eventually, dinner came out.  The family all gathered round, and a good meal was shared by all.  Victor had fun, laughing and relaxing with the family.  The tension between him and Mari managed to ease up over the course of dinner.  Afterward, Victor even help tidy up, at least he did until Hiroko urged the boys to go off, and relax.

Finally, upstairs, and away from everyone, save Makkachin who followed behind them waving his tail steadily, Victor wandered into his own room, and fell onto the bed, letting out an exhausted breath.

Yuuri finished helping get everything cleaned up. He bade his parents and Mari a good night and headed towards his room. As he passed by Victor's he paused, glancing inside. He chuckled as he saw the man face down on his bed.

"You look like you've been put through the ringer. And you pretty much have been. Sorry about Mari and Minako."

"Mm... I was expecting it."  Victor mumbled.  He curled around awkwardly in his bed, so that he was still basically lying face down, but curved at the waist so that he could open his arms out to Yuuri, inviting him over for a hug on the bed.  "Cost of living in my boyfriend's parent's attic."  Even though this wasn't really an attic.

He laughed and went over, crawling into the bed and cuddling into his arms. "Technically you're living in your boyfriend's parent's inn's banquet hall." He grinned and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

Victor returned that peck giving a small hum along with it.  "Mmm.  Too much to say.  I'd rather just repeat the boyfriend part."

He drew Yuuri up, half rolling onto his side so he could pull Yuuri in close, his arm draped over his waist.

He laughed, nuzzling him as he moved. "I like that part best as well." He smiled, brushing away some strands of Victor's hair.

"I really do feel bad about Mari yelling at you. I... I didn't think she would be so..."

"It's fine."  Victor waved it away, giving a soft chuckle.  "I sort of figured she'd be the one to dig into me.  What I'm really surprised is that your father didn't really seem to have anything to say either way.  He just laughed and joked around during dinner just like always.  I wonder if he's in denial."

Yuuri laughed and shook his head. "Nah. Mom said they had talked about the possibility after seeing the kiss on TV. I honestly think she was the one nominated to talk to me about it. Dad is pretty easy going, but don't be fooled. He will be watching as close as Mari will be."

"Wow.  So scary!"  Victor cooed broaching into a deep laugh as he hugged Yuuri closer.  When his laughter finally came down, his eyes were sparkling as he looked back at Yuuri.  "I like your family.  They're all really kind."

He smiled brightly. "They love you. Despite the threats, they all love you." He wrapped his arms around him tight. "I think they already considered you part of the family before all of this."

“…”

"... really?"   A childlike smile broke across his face, replacing the look of shock that had come the with the revelation.  And then his hands were all over Yuuri again, roving over his back and slipping under his shirt.  "That means we basically have their blessing to go forward however we like, yes?"

He chuckled. "Maybe? I dunno, Mari may still need some convincing." He wasn't really sure what moving forward entailed. They had only started... dating/kissing/other stuff yesterday.

"I guess I'll just have to be good a little bit longer and convince her then."  Victor happily reasoned away.

He groaned and rolled over onto his back and onto Makkachin, who quickly scurried out from underneath his master.  "Ah~ I wanted to make my move and let my Yuuri make love to me... but I'm so tired."  Victor complained over dramatically.

["Victor..." he chuckled shaking his head. "I... okay, look, someday, maybe soon... maybe. But... that is something I just don't know if I'm ready for yet. What we did last night was a big step for me and I seriously doubt it would have happened with just anyone."

He kissed his cheek. "Let me work on my Eros just a little more before I'm ready for that next level, okay?" He smiled softly.

"I know."  Victor smiled, and nuzzled back into Yuuri.  "I'm just over excited because I got a little taste.  I'm fine waiting however long you need.  But you will sleep in here with me tonight, right?  It'll just be sleep, I promise."

Yuuri smiled and nodded. He had wanted to sleep with him tonight but he was afraid to ask if he could. He cuddled in closer. "I'd love to."

Victor smiled, and nuzzled into Yuuri.  "I'm glad."  He cooed softly, closing his eyes.   His hand had snuck up the back of Yuuri's shirt, just so that his hands could touch skin.  Things like getting under the blankets, turning off the lights... all that could come later.  Right now, Victor just wanted to greet oblivion with his love in his arms... while everything was right with the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are so glad that people seem to be enjoying this! Thank you all so much for the hits, comments, and kudos!!


	4. Chapter 4: Landing the Quad Flip/Skating Together

Chapter 4

Landing the Quad Flip/Skating Together

Yuuri groaned as he hit the ice... again. Stupid freaking quad flip. What had made him think he could even remotely attempt it?

He sighed as he got up. "Okay... that may be enough of that if I want to even attempt to polish up the routines for Russia.

Victor frowned as he watched Yuuri fall down again.

"Your routines are already pretty polished," he reasoned "but there's no point in continuing is it’s something beyond your abilities.   Especially if you hurt yourself, all of this work will have been for nothing." 

He skated over, and gave Yuuri what had by now become his routine quick and abrasive bodily inspection, making sure the Japanese man hadn't hurt himself. One that was established, h checked Yuuri's skates, making sure the blades were still sharp, and laces still tight enough to hold on like a second skin around his ankles.

Yuuri cursed. He'd almost landed the stupid flip once and ever since he seemed to get worse with each attempt. He allowed Victor to check his skates. He took stock of himself. Everything seemed to be okay.

He stretched a little. "One more try. I want... I need to try one more time." He let out a breath and looked at Victor. "I can do this." He wanted to hear his coach's opinion before attempting the jump again.

Victor examined the determination in Yuuri's eyes.   The jump had the height he needed, and there was enough airtime to complete four rotations.  It was the landings he kept flubbing.  And if Victor let him make the attempt...

He was worried about Yuuri's limbs, his ankles and more importantly his wrists. 

"You have a bad habit of touching down with your hands.  You’re going to get hurt if you keep doing that but I'm worried that you don't have enough momentum if you don't use your arms to propel your spin."

Victor stood up, examining Yuuri critically as he tried to figure out the best way to help Yuuri land it.  "I don't want to keep tiring you out if you're just going to keep falling, so give me a lap around the rink so I can see how your ankles are holding up.  If I like what I see I'll let you try it one more time, otherwise we're switching to triples.  And I'll want to see three of those for every quad you missed."

His eyes flared in surprise. Damn, he really could sound like a coach. He smirked a little and nodded. "Hai!"

He took off for the lap, he was surprised at how steady he felt after all of those flubs. Victor was right about everything. Yuuri needed to focus more on the landed than the execution because he had that part down. He would get this jump.

Victor watched Yuuri skate the lap.  His ankles looked fine, legs looked strong.  Balance at peak...   Good!  That was all he wanted to see.

 

From his position in the center of the Rink, Victor called out to his student suddenly.  "Yuuri!  Davai!"

Yuuri glanced and him and nodded, picking up speed. He could do this. He had to do this. As he readied himself he let out a breath, relaxing his body.

He focused on his goal. He knew what he wanted. Finally, he pushed off the ice to enter the jump. He used his arms like Victor had said. He knew he had the rotations down. The landed. He had to keep his center of balance as he came down.

His skates hit the ice. He didn't breathe for a good few seconds. He had done it... He smiled brightly. He spun around and looked at Victor. What did he think?

Victor held his breath as Yuuri soared through the air.  Even after he heard the sound of ice hitting steel he couldn't let that breath out.  he waited for it.  The sound of scraping and clattering that never came.  Instead.... only the sweet music of ice slicing.  His eyes were on Yuuri the whole time as he watched it.

"Yuuri!"  The name escaped his lips before he even remembered to let out the breath he'd been holding.  But he was already skating over toward his student, his arms outstretched in a burst of joy as he came up on him.  "That was amazing!"  He cheered, reaching for Yuuri's hands so he could spin around him, gliding on the ice more natural than walking.

Yuuri laughed as he took his hands. "I did it! Finally!!!" It was such a weight off his shoulders. He smiled brightly at Victor. "Thank you."

"Thank me? Thank you! It's all your hard work paying off!"  Victor continued to cheer as their easy momentum kept them moving in small inward circles around each other. Without even thinking about it, Victor's hands gripped at Yuuri's sides. The timing was just right, and he was so happy he just... Lifted Yuuri up over his head

Yuuri was about to reply when he felt Victor's hands on his hips and his feet leaving the ground. He squeaked in surprise, but new better not to tense up. 

Once he was back down he looked at his boyfriend in surprise. "You... that... what?"

Stunned by his own actions, Victor himself took a second to blink at what just happened, before a smile erupted across his face.  He pulled his hands back defensively.  "Ah, I'm so sorry, Yuuri.  I was just so excited I got carried away.  Do you think you could do it again?  Or are you tired?"

Yuuri shook his head and reached for his hands. "No, no, no, that was... fun!" He chuckled. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay cause I'm not exactly small." He blushed lightly.

"I... I think I can try again." He felt tired but not too bad.

Chuckling, Victor let Yuuri take his hands back.  The motion was enough to begin another counter clockwise roll.  "I think I've lost some of my upper body strength, so I'm not sure I could do more than that, but I'll gladly teach you all sorts of lifts if that's what you want.  We're actually a really good height match."  Victor cooed.  Moving around on the Ice with Yuuri just seemed natural, and without thinking too much about it, Victor began just steadily leading Yuuri around.

 

"But I'm not exactly sure about the idea of letting you try again if you're heart isn't as into it as it was last time.  Your landing was still pretty shaky and I don't want you to lose confidence if you fall.  Right now, let’s just end that section on a win, and I think there are some off ice exercises I can get you to do to build up some of your landing muscles."

Just casually, as he spoke, he slowly led Yuuri on the Ice.  He let Yuuri get further away from him, just far enough to raise Yuuri's hands up in case the other wanted to try a spin.

Yuuri nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right." He let Victor lead him around, moving in a dance of sorts. He smiled, face flushed from exertion and the cold.

"I like skating with you."

"Hm? You do? Why bring this up now while we're in the middle of practice?" Victor asked, completely oblivious to the detail that yes, they were dancing now, on the ice.  Now entering into a mirroring segment, where Victor had placed himself behind Yuuri as they glided across the ice, so that he could support and move Yuuri's body for him, correcting his form and guiding his hips just so.

Yuuri looked him, head tilted slightly. Was he... nope. Victor is always serious just... unobservant. "Victor... what do you think we are doing?" His eyes and head followed his movements, watching him move.

Victor looked.  A slight fluster crossed his cheeks.  At that exact moment, he had happened to take one of Yuuri's hand while his hand was on Yuuri's hip, guiding him in time with the music that only Victor could hear, the music generated by their blades on the ice, of slice and scrape. 

It was only then that Victor noticed the movements they were doing, which step sequence he'd fallen into without even thinking about it.

"We're talking!" he tried, a bold face lie.

Yuuri followed right along with him. The routine they were doing was like second nature. He chuckled at the face Victor made. He was quite adorable under all that hotness.

"Talking aaaaaand..." He prodded. He grinned as he spun, the choreography hitting him as he turned. Of course they would fall into this one.

Rather than begin on a series of chain jumps, it seemed more natural to fall into a tighter spin as they held onto each other, the focus of balance somewhere in between them.  It also made it necessary to bring their faces closer together. "Thinking out loud~" Victor offered.

Yuuri rolled his eyes. "Funny." He brushed his hand across Victor's cheek as he came close. "So... what are you thinking about?'

Victor loved that little gesture from Yuuri.  It warmed his heart. Aside from that, it was an excellent question too. What was he thinking about that he'd fallen into this step sequence with Yuuri.

 

"I'm thinking... how drastically the meaning behind this music has changed because of you.   How much better it is thanks to you.  How brilliant it is when you let an artistic vision filter through someone else's head, and how much brighter it shines than anything crafted on its own."

Yuuri blushed, smiling sheepishly as they moved. He shook his head, spinning around before taking Victor's hand again. "I'm... glad you think that..." He shook his head a little. "I can't be better because of me. It was already an amazing routine because of you. You brought it to life in a way no one else could. You inspired me to skate it."

"Hm?  But your skate was so different from mine.  Tell me, Yuuri... what were you thinking about when you skated it?  What story are you trying to tell?"  He asked, his mind now on fire while his body went through the practiced motions, including another into the intricate dance with ease.

"Hmm..." Yuuri moved without thinking about his movements. He was thinking back to that day. "I remember... wanting Yuuko to watch I wanted someone I knew who loved skating as much as me to watch me perform a routine I loved. I wanted to express my love for skating through it." He squeezed Victor's hand gently.

"I wanted to show my gratitude for you. You inspired me to skate, to become better. I had the biggest failure of my career in and needed you to help pick me up and show my why I fell in love with skating to begin with."

The movements changed.  The dance shifted.  It flowed from Victor perfectly naturally, one movement into another, leading Yuuri along with it.  They were skating to a different choreography now.

"Is that what you were thinking all this time?"  Victor chuckled.  "It seemed so innocent, so pure and earnest.  I suppose I should have expected something along those lines."

Yuuri tilted his head, confused. "What did you expect?" It was pretty amazing how easily they moved together.

There was no doubt about it now.  Victor had to hold Yuuri a little bit closer, carefully guiding him through the unfamiliar routine - but it was Agape.  Jumps became lifts, spins became doubles, but the footwork was all the same.

"To me," Victor began.  "It was like a call and answer. I had made my cry out into the cold - and you answered.  You argued, making your counter point, a counter point to what I had come up with all by myself.

"It was kind of funny you know?  I said it over and over again in front of the whole world and the only one who answered was you."  Victor's hands caressed Yuuri's cheek this time as he led him into the next movement.

Yuuri blushed brightly. He moved with Victor, trusting him as he guiding him through the routine. It was only after a certain step sequence that he realized what they were skating. He looked at him, eyes full of love. He smiled softly.

"Well, I'm glad I did. Probably the best decision of my life."

As they transitioned from one program into the next, there was no way Yuuri wouldn't have recognized this step sequence.  The familiar routine practiced over and and over again.  The tone and nature of Victor's movements shifted, becoming more aggressive as he leaned in to Yuuri.  "Best decision of mine as well while we're at it.  But what about now?  What are you thinking about now?"  He purred seductively to the other man.  "Are you still thinking about pork cutlet bowls and saucy women?"

Yuuri immediately recognizing the change in their movements. How could he not? Though dancing it with Victor instead of for him was new and exciting. He blushed slightly, but chuckled at the question.

"You know very well that I have never skated this thinking about either of those. Well... maybe the first few practices, but performing... only one person has ever been on my mind when I'm performing this routine." He smirked.

"Oh?  Is it me?  Are you thinking about seducing me?"  Victor purred, the effectiveness of the sexy tone of his voice lost almost completely as it contrasted with the dumb grin sprawled across his face.  The aggressive posture had shifted to a more playful lean in, and there was a way in which Victor's movements shifted.  They felt more natural now, but less in control.  Like he was giving Yuuri the opportunity to take the lead.

Whether consciously or not, Yuuri took the opportunity to lead. He knew this routine forward and back. He couldn't help but laugh at the grin on Victor's face. "If I said no, what would you say?"

He grinned, spinning them, moving with more attitude that he had before.

Victor's expression faltered as he appeared to take the retort to heart.  "I'd say you were a cruel man, playing with my heart so brazenly."  Even as he said this, he let Yuuri lead, trusting him completely as they moved around the saucy routine, dips and spins and tangos naturally seemed to fit into it, and Victor all too easily feel into wherever Yuuri led him.

"That, and I'd demand to know who it was you were thinking about, so I could steal their charm for myself."

He chuckled and pulled Victor close, so close that their noses were touching as they paused their movements. "Victor, you are the only one I have eyes for and the only one I would ever think about when skating this routine."

Chalk it up to the routine, but Yuuri felt more confident right now than usual. He placed a hand behind Victor's neck, leading him down into a heat searing kiss.

So easily, Yuuri was able to sweep the blonde off his feet.  Maybe it was all the skating they had been doing up until this point, but that kiss literally seemed to take Victor's breath away, leaving him light headed and panting against Yuuri's lips.  His chest pounded heavily, pressed right against Yuuri's own chest, their hearts beating in sync from all the movement up until now.  The only thing Victor could think to do, the only thing he seemed to want, was to deepen the kiss further, parting his lips as he granted Yuuri access to him.  To all of him.

He hummed in satisfaction as Victor deepened the kiss. One arm was around Victor's waist, the other, the hand that was on his neck, had snaked into his hair, He felt his lips part and on instinct, he slid his tongue across Victor's lips and into his mouth.

Victor's own tongue welcomed Yuuri's into his mouth, lapping at the organ in greeting, continuing their dance in the new venue before getting out of the way to let Yuuri explore.  His hands remained tightly where they were, wrapped around Yuuri's shoulders for support, as his legs were thrown uselessly out from beneath him.

He felt so vulnerable, so exposed like that.  And completely content.  Victor wouldn't have been surprised, if the ice was melting beneath them.

"You know, if you two insist on doing that in the middle of the rink, there is a good chance my triplets will take photos and plaster them all over the internet."

Yuuri jumped with squeak, holding onto Victor so he did fall. His head whipped around. "Y-Yuuko!" He

Victor yelped along with the squeak, less because he was startled by the woman's sudden arrival.  Theoretically he knew the whole time that someone was likely to be hanging around...  But more because the man supporting him had tensed around while Victor was still held very precariously.

When it was obvious Yuuri wasn't going to drop him... Victor relaxed a little.  Still helpless in Yuuri's arms, he dropped his head back, getting an upside-down view of the Mrs. Ice rink owner/employee/manager...  Victor still wasn't 100% what her role was but recognized her as the rink's authority.

"Hii~" He greeted her in a sing song tone, his mind still light headed from the kiss.

Yuuko laughed and said hi back. "I'll let you guys get back to "practice." She grinned and ran off.

"Yuuko..." Yuuri whined. He sighed and held Victor close, burying his face in his shoulder.

Victor patted Yuuri's head, consoling him.  He was also beginning to wonder... How much longer Yuuri planed on holding him like that.  The younger man's stamina really was impressive, but his own legs were starting to buckle, losing the pivot point.  Honestly, at this point it didn't really matter to him whether Yuuri let him up or finished dropping him down.   ... In fact, given the state of the tightness of his pants, it might actually be better if Yuuri just... finished setting him down the rest of the way...

Yuuri looked up and smiled, shaking his head. "Gotta love Yuuko..." He squeezed him gently and let go of him, taking his hand to head off the ice. His legs were burning a little since they stopped skating.

"What shall we do with the rest of our day?" He put his guards on and sat heavily on the bench.

"She seems like a good friend."  Victor said simply.  Actually, Victor had insisted on sitting down, right on the ice when Yuuri had finally let him up.

He had to take a quick breath, and calm down for a second before he could stand back up, take Yuuri's hand, and head off the ice with him.

"We probably ought to Ice your legs."  Victor murmured, noticing the slightest of gestures from Yuuri.  He stood up and stretched himself.  "We should come back later tonight after the recreational scatters are done.  Get another practice in.

 

"For now... you should be stretching, not sitting."

He felt bad that Victor seemed so exhausted. He raised an eyebrow though at his comments. Really? He sighed and nodded, scooting to the floor to stretch.

For a moment Victor watch Yuri doing his cool down stretches.  He sighed.

"Lay down on your back."  Victor instructed.

Yuuri did as he was told. He knew Victor knew what he was doing. Despite his shortcomings as a coach, he was a damn good skater and knew what a skater's body needed after a day of training.

Without speaking a word to Yuuri, Victor got down on his knees next to Yuuri.  He took his skater's leg in hand, and lifted it up, bending the knee just right, flexing and stretching it for him.  While he worked, he used his fingers to massage the muscles out, pushing the lactic acid that had built up during the day out of the muscles.

Yuuri winced a little as his muscles were a little sore, but what Victor was doing felt good. He knew this would help later so he wouldn't get hurt doing jumps and spins.

He let his body relax as Victor worked on his muscles. "Thank you."

Finishing up one leg Victor moved on to the next one.  Bending it, flexing it, massaging the muscles out. then lift bend flex and stretch again.  Victor reached up onto the benches, and blindly began to feel around through Yuuri's gym bag, until his fingers fell on the familiar shape of a water bottle.

He tossed it to Yuuri, before setting down by Yuuri's feet to start undoing his laces himself.  "Drink up.  You need to get extra hydrated right now to flush the acid out.  Otherwise it's just going to settle back in in your joints and that's going to be even worse.  We probably need to start making sure you have enough iron..." He mused idly, his delicate fingers making quick work of the laces, even with his own intricate lacing method.

Yuuri took the bottle and started to drink. He nodded in agreement with Victor. He watched him as he untied his laces. The top of his head was exposed once again. He grinned around his bottle and gently poked him on his crown.

Victor stopped what he was doing.

....

...and instantly deflated.

Yuuri rolled his eyes. "You are such a drama king when I do that." He chuckled, drinking some more. "You do know it doesn't mean what you think it does, right?"

Victor snapped back up, covering the top of his head with an exasperated look in his eyes.  "It means I'm /balled/ Yuri."  He moaned pathetically.  He dared to uncover it only so he could run his fingers through the thin strands that remained.  "Maybe I should just go ahead and shave it all off.  Beat my fate to the punch!"

Yuuri grabbed Victor's hands and pulled him close, kissing him just to make him stop talking. He gently cupped his cheeks, resting his forehead against his.

"Here it is a form of affection, kinda like ruffling your hair. It's meant to be playful." He smiled softly, running a hand through his hair. "It's as beautiful and thick as ever, you hear me?"

It took a moment for it to all sink in.  The kiss... ...a form of affection... it’s beautiful...

A smile broke out across his face.  He kept his forehead pressed against Yuuri's, not wanting to pull away. "You think so?  Because it really is thinning."

“Every day it seems like I find more and more of it in the sink."

Yuuri shook his head against his. "Actually, that can be healthy. Sometimes you tend to lose a bit so new hair can grow and become even thicker than it was before."

He brushed his thumb across his cheek. "I promise you that you are as beautiful now as you were when I first laid eyes on you many years ago." He smiled. "And I'm pretty sure, no matter what, you will always be the most handsome man I've ever laid eyes on."

Victor was... ...almost close to tears.  How was Yuuri able to see through him so easily?  Cut through his insecurities and turn them into strengths just with a few casual words and gentle touches.   Victor laughed.  He reached up to stroke the back of Yuuri's hand even as it cupped his cheeks.

"Why... are you always the one comforting me.  I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be the one taking care of you."

"Oh trust me, you do plenty when it comes to taking care of me. I like to think we should be pretty equal on that front cause I like taking care of you too." He kissed his nose. "I love you."

Right now, Victors heart was absolutely full of Yuuri.  It felt so full, almost as if it was ready to burst.  He ran his own hand across Yuuri's cheek, as he looked into those beautiful amber eyes.

"I love you too...  I love you so much..." He breathed.

Yuuri's smile was so wide. He leaned into the touch, humming happily. "What do you say we head home and get ready for more practice later? Cause honestly, I could stay here all day but that might not be the best way to rest up." He chuckled.

"Mmn. Good Idea."  Victor cooed.  He didn't want to let go of Yuuri, but it was the best course of action.  Besides, he still had to take off his own skates.  "Remember.  Drink, drink. You need to stay hydrated and flushed until those aches go away."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! We decided to change the tags, because after thinking about it, we really don't show anything of that nature. There are mentions of it regarding the past. We were trying to be safe, but ultimately deciding they weren't needed.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	5. Chapter 5: Yuuri’s Bedroom/Secret Appointment/Victor Watches Anastasia

Chapter 5

Yuuri’s Bedroom/Secret Appointment/Victor Watches Anastasia

It had been a rough day at practice, and the two men were headed home by what had now become a familiar routine.  Into the Inn, up to Victor's room before it was time for dinner or a bath - whichever came first.  They were particularly late getting back from the Ice Castle, so it was likely going to be dinner.  But as they ascended the stairs a smirk crossed Victor's lips, as he gave poor unsuspecting Yuuri a sidelong glance.

Suddenly he charged forward, running ahead of the other man.

Yuuri felt like he was dragging as walked with Victor. Today had been brutal. He was tired, hungry, and desperate to get into the bath. He was determined to go change at least before dinner, but then Victor took off at a run.

He stopped, blinking in surprise. "The hell...?" He muttered to himself. He sped up, but didn't run, after the man. How did he have the energy to run off and more importantly why?

Victor turned the corner - going the opposite direction from his room.  Down the hall.  Haha.  he smirked to himself thinking that Yuuri still hadn't figured it out.

But there was nowhere else he could be headed.  The little room at the end of the hallway...  Victor put his hands on Yuuri's bedroom door, getting ready to throw it open.

Yuuri he realized where Victor was heading just seconds before he turned the corner. "NO!" Yuuri booked it. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He practically jumped on to the man as he reached him, grabbing onto his arm for dear life.

"Yes!"  He counter argued.  But, still didn't actually open the door.  That would be a complete invasion of privacy.  Instead, he settled for catching Yuuri, pulling him into his arms.

Yuuri eeped as Victor wrapped his arms around him. He sighed in defeat, falling limp in his arms. "You really want to go in there, don't you?"

Victor nodded proudly, putting on his best puppy dog face.  ... which, with Makkachin right there wagging his tail next to him, it wasn't that hard.

He groaned, hiding his face in Victor's neck. Luckily his posters were down and hidden well. He blindly reached for the knob and opened the door.

Victor gave his boyfriend a hug, and then leapt into the room as soon as he was allowed.  He did a small spin as he declared.  "Yuuri's room!"

He looked around, incredibly proud of himself.  And there was... ... nothing.  It was just a normal room.

"Hm?  I thought you said you had posters of me up in here.  You didn't take them down did you?"  He asked flippantly, deciding to look at what actually was in Yuuri's room.  Naturally, he was drawn to the books on the desk.

"Of course I did. I wasn't going to keep them up with you here." He walked in and sat on his bed, letting Victor roam around the room.

He patted the bed and Makkachin jumped up, laying beside him. He pet the poodle's head as he watched his boyfriend. "Not as mysterious as you thought it was?" He grinned.

Victor's eyes scanned over the different titles of books, his fingers tracing along the tops of them.  So these were the things Yuuri liked to read.

"Well I didn't know."  He said.  "You never let me in here."  The time that Victor had in fact barged into Yuuri's room, to insist on taking an off day was all but forgotten.  And even then, he'd never made it past the threshold.

Yuuri decided to indulge Victor a little. He has actually been good about not coming in here. He bent down and reached for a small stack of posters that were under his bed. It was by no means all or even a chunk of his Victor collection but that was in a box never to see the light of day.

"Here. Just... don't make fun of me too much, okay?" He held out the stack to him.

There they were.  There was the money shot.

"They were under your bed?"  Victor crooned, giving a soft chuckle as he came to join Yuuri and Makkachin on the bed.  He sat down with one leg off the bed, so that he was facing Yuuri as he took the posters in hand.  "My, my, what is it you were doing with my posters then, hmm?"  He teased.

"Hiding them from you." He chuckled. "I was embarrassed to have you see them on my walls so I hid them. To be fair, they were here when I left 5 years ago so..."

No, he wouldn't tell Victor he had one or two with him in Detroit.

Victor flipped through the pile of posters, taking soft note of which ones Yuuri had, which ones (it appeared) he didn't.

"So you really liked my long haired phase didn't you." He noted with a bemused tone.  That wasn't much of a surprise, most people did.  "Didn't you have any posters of anyone else?"

He flushed. He was tempted to lie and say he did but they were just packed up. Instead he bit the bullet.

"Honestly no. I mean... I watched other skaters. Yuuko and I watched every competition and discussed them at length. But you... you were always my favorite. Just the way you moved and the stories you told through your skating always seemed to enrapture me more than others."

A flush fell across Victor's cheeks as well.  He'd heard fans sing his praises before, heard people gush that he was their absolute favorite... but...  It was different coming from his boyfriend, from the person HE liked.  Victor was touched...

He set the posters down, and leaned forward.  His nose brushed against Yuuri's before he leaned in the rest of the way, hesitating for just a breath before he pressed his lips against Yuuri's.

He hummed softly as he kissed him back. He hadn't expected it, but he loved it so much. He placed his hand on Victor's forearm, just wanting to hold onto him as they kissed.

Victor's other hand reached up, to stroke Yuuri's cheek during the second, and third kiss that followed.

"Yuuri..."  Victor murmured softly, his blue eyes lidded down to slits as he gazed down at the other man.  "Thank you for telling me..."  ... no, that wasn't right.  It wasn't just telling.  "Thank you for letting me in."

Yuuri blushed as he looked into his eyes. He smiled softly, his hand gently rubbing Victor's arm. "I figured it was about time." He kissed him again.

Victor hummed lightly into the kiss.  This moment was bliss.  He felt as if he could just sit on Yuuri's bed, kissing the other man, low key making out with him forever.  That hand on his arm was sending chills up his spine.

Yuuri wanted to wrap his arms around him and lay back on his bed, making out for the rest of the evening. Two things stopped him: his family knew they were home and would be telling them dinner was ready any minute and the fact that a certain poodle was right behind him.

"Mmm... as much as I want to keep going, we should probably get ready for dinner." As he spoke, he remained close to the other, their lips still brushing against each other's.

"Do we have to?"  VIctor groaned.  Officially, becoming the worst coach ever.

The posters that he'd so desperately wanted to see, were now getting in the way.  Victor shifted them, onto the floor and letting them slip under the bed slightly.  The whole move made it so that he was the one dipping back, tugging at Yuuri to follow him as his top half laid down.

Yuuri chuckled and nodded, giving him one more kiss. "You're the one who said we had to keep fueled up for all of this training."

"I did say that didn't I."  Victor groaned.  Damn his own brilliant advice!

Makkachin shifted on the bed.  Since Victor was lying down now, the dog moved up next to his owner, and curled up at Victor's side.  Giving him an idle pet, the Russian sighed.  "Then, do you want to wash up first?  I don't mind just laying here while you do.  I even promise to be good."

Yuuri chuckled. "I so don't believe that." He kissed him quickly before gathering up clothes and things to wash up. "I won't be long."

Victor gave Yuuri an innocent wave as he watched the other man leave.    The moment he was out the door, Victor flopped back onto Yuuri's bed and took a deep breath.

The room smelled like Yuuri.

He rolled over onto his side, burying his nose in the pillows.

They smelled so much like Yuuri.

This was the bed Yuuri had laid in, night after night, with posters of Victor up on the walls.  Just posters of Victor.  No one else...  Had Yuuri touched himself while looking at those posters?  Of course he had, what growing boy wouldn't.  Without realizing it, Victor's own hands had started to wander, started to caress himself imagining Yuuri doing the same.

 

This of course, was interrupted my Makkachin, as the dog nosed his way in between Victor's roving hands - stealing a petting.  Victor gave a soft laugh as he settled for petting his dog instead of himself.  That's right, he had promised to be good.  He was a good boy, just like Makkachin.

Except nobody believed that!

Victor sat up in a startle as he looked around.  He had to be bad - but how?  Yuuri had left him alone in his room, but there were no more secrets (or so he thought) to reveal!  How could he still be bad in Yuuri's room in a way that would... Oh, there was an idea....

"I'm Sorry Makkachin" He said, giving his dog a soft kiss on the nose.  "I'm going to have to kick you out of here.  This is not going to be suitable for your delicate eyes."  He cooed down, as he hooked his fingers into the dog's collar, and gently led the poodle down off the bed, and out of the room.  He quickly closed the door before the dog could follow him back in, leaving Makkachin confused and waiting outside the door.

Back inside the room, Victor did the only natural thing - and started to strip.

By the time Yuuri came back from cleaning up.  Makkachin was outside his bedroom door, giving it a soft scratch as he waited to be let back in.

Yuuri came back in sweats and a t-shirt. He was drying his hair with a towel when he noticed Makkachin outside his door. "What the...?" Yuuri sighed and bent down to scratch behind his ears. "What am I going to do with him, Makka?"

He stood up and opened his bedroom door, bracing himself for whatever his dear -coach- had planned for him.

While Yuuri had been gone, Victor had quickly rummaged around through some drawers, looking for the shiniest, most embarrassing garment of clothing Yuuri owned.  Much to his disappointment, it seemed like the Japanese boy didn't own anything that caught his eyes right off the bat, and so at the last minute, as he Heard Yuuri's voice just outside the door, he scrambled to get back into position.

By the time Yuuri opened the door to his bedroom, Victor, in full naked splendor, was laying on Yuuri's bed.  His arms and legs beautifully posed, his manhood fully erect and flushed.  Victor himself gave Yuuri a signature, charismatic wink as he cooed back "Okairi, Yuuri~ <3"

Yuuri stood there for a good few seconds, eyes wide as he took in the scene. Once he got his brain working again, he turned around and shut the door.

"Come on Makkachin, let's go help mom finish up dinner." He said it loud enough for Victor to hear through the door.

Makkachin woofed in excitement.

Well that backfired.

Almost as much as it had backfired the first time Victor had tried it all those months ago.  Apparently, Yuuri just didn't like being surprised by Victor's nakedness.

 

"W-Wait Yu~uriii  I'm coming too!"  Victor groaned from the outside of the door as he scrambled to get his clothes back on.  His shirt was barely on and his pants were still half done as he barreled out of the room, desperate to catch up with Yuuri's retreating form.

Yuuri glanced down at Makkachin and grinned, trying to hold in a laugh as he heard Victor hurry after them. He slowed his pace a little, reaching for his arm once he got close.

"Thanks for joining us." He smiled, kissing his cheek. In a low voice he continued, "You know, of all the times I imagined walking into my room to you laying on my bed naked... I never expected it to actually happen." He chuckled. "That is the second time you've surprised me like that, you know. Maybe one day when we aren't in my family's inn it will work out for you."

"Mm."  Victor intoned, returning the kiss to the cheek with a kiss to the forehead. "You're making me hope the Rostelecom cup comes faster and faster."  Victor purred in response.

So that was the rule then.  Victor resolved.  Nothing more than kissing and heavy petting while they were here.  Got it.  Victor wasn't used to having to put himself on check like that... but if it was for Yuuri, he would manage.

He stepped back to finish adjusting his clothes.

Just then, a voice called up from the bottom of the stairs.  "Yuuri, Vic-chan.  Dinner's ready~" Hiroko called out.

A woof and a jump and Makkachin was already running downstairs.

Yuuri blushed and nodded.  He was looking forward to having the hotel room to themselves, but the thought of the competition had him anxious. He gently nudged Victor as he followed Makkachin downstairs.

Victor's Overt attempts at initiating intimacy between the two of them dropped off after that point.  The seduction may have waned, but the PDA did not, and Nightly Victor still asked Yuuri to sleep in his bed, so that he could hold the other man close.  But the Russian seemed to have gotten the message, and was respecting Yuuri's boundary.

Over the Weekend they went into Tokyo to cheer on Yurio in the NHK cup, which was an event full of it's own hijinks and antics.  But by Monday they were back to training as usual.  A training session on ice during the morning, break for lunch.  Afternoon off ice training, midday snack, evening on ice practice, dinner and a bath had become the routine.

The Wednesday before they left, however.  Just as they were finishing up morning practice Victor casually mentioned to Yuuri.  "Oh.  By the way.  Let’s skip our afternoon workout.  I have an errand to run in town."

Yuuri was working on untying his skates. His head whipped up in surprise. "You... have an errand?" He tilted his head a little. "Do I need to come with you?"

Victor had explored Hasetsu enough that Yuuri was pretty sure he could find his way around. However, it was rare for the other man to go off on his own nowadays.

"No.  That's alright."  He said dismissively, not thinking about the offer twice.  He knew where he was going, knew they had a good English speaker there.  He'd be fine on his own.  "You probably need to rest up before we fly out tomorrow anyway.  It's not going to do either of us any good if you get exhausted right before the competition."

Yuuri frowned. While they weren't joined at the hip, he was a little put off by how insistent Victor was to go somewhere without him. "I'm sure I won't get that exhausted..." He muttered.

He sighed and nodded. "Just be safe, okay?" He was already debating on following the man. He could be stealthy, right?

Victor laughed.  "Alright, alright."  Victor conceded. "I promise I won't talk to any strangers and to look both ways before I cross the street okay?"  He smiled, giving Yuuri a pat on the head.  "Do you want me to meet you back at home, or back here?"

"At home is fine." He smiled at him. The fact that they both referred to Yu-topia as home made him happy. "See you then."

"Alright.  Love you, malo solnechnogo sveta" Victor cooed out as he walked waved good bye.

It was unusual to go somewhere without Yuuri these days.  He woke up with Yuuri in the morning, trained with him all day, ate every meal with him.  He'd been a little avoidant about sharing the bath together, now that they actually were together, but even that managed to even out in the end.  Actually wandering through the streets of Hasetsu without Yuuri, or even Makkachin by his side...  it felt strange.  And strangely lonely.

Victor's shoulders slumped as he walked on.  Maybe he should have asked Yuuri to come with him after all.  But then again, Victor knew how Yuuri was.  He knew this would have just worried Yuuri, when it was nothing.  And right now, right before the competition, he didn't need to put any undue burdens on his skater's mind.

By now, Victor knew the way.  He'd even managed to figure out better routes than what google maps had first told him was the better directions.  But it route was still the route of a foreigner, who didn't really know how to read the street signs and was walking almost completely based off the instructions of a third party.

His path twisted this way and that, until he eventually got to his destination - the small clinic that catered to non-emergency medical care.

let Victor leave first before quickly putting on his shoes and grabbing his bag. He knew all of the shortcuts in Hasetsu and hopefully they would work to his advantage. Yes, okay this was spying and he felt bad, but something about Victor's errand felt... off.

Yuuri spotted Victor a little ways ahead of him. Good, he could follow and hide when necessary. He made sure he kept his distance and tried not to look too suspicious.

 

The second Yuuri saw Victor enter the clinic, he froze. Why? Why would he come here? He wracked his brain trying to come up with an answer. All of them went from bad to worse. There had to be a simple explanation. Victor hadn't seemed ill. He had been normal... right?

Inside the Clinic, Victor checked in for his appointment.   There was a little bit of a wait while the front desk processed Victor's paper work.  He passed the time flipping idly through one of the Magazines they had available.  Soon one of the Nurses called Victor back.

Her English wasn't that great, but Victor had managed to pick up enough Japanese in the past half a year that they made do.  She left him to wait for the doctor alone in the clinic room for a little bit.  In a short while the doctor showed up.  They had a brief conversation.   Everything was going well, medicine all seemed to be working - yes, they'd have a longer appointment latter to completely re-access everything, but right now things were looking good.   The doctor wrote Victor a refill on his prescription and they parted ways.

All in all, the whole event took maybe 30 minutes from the time Victor walked into the clinic to the time he settled up the bill with the girl at the front desk.  He walked out, of the clinic, prescription in hand, and walked right into the prescription pharmacy next door.

How long had he been in there? Hours?! Yuuri checked his phone. Oh... it had only been half an hour. Definitely felt like longer.

He paced a little from his spot across the street from the clinic. Every time the door opened, he jumped to hide. This time, Victor emerged from the clinic. Even at this distance, he carefully looked the man over for any signs of something being wrong. There was nothing he could tell.

He watched as Victor walked into the pharmacy next door. Medicine? He was getting medicine for something? He thought back to that morning. Victor always took something in the mornings. Yuuri had always assumed it was a multi-vitamin because he did the same. Could it be something else?

He decided this was enough and made his way back home. He had to get back before Victor anyway. He debated on whether or not he should ask him what was going on, but if Victor didn't want him to know... maybe he should keep quiet. And internally worry about his boyfriend.

Suspecting nothing, Victor got his prescription refilled, and headed back to Yu-topia.  Honestly, waiting on the pharmacist probably took longer than anything, but it gave Victor some time to idly shop around down town before heading back.

He greeted Makkachin happily, letting the dog jump all over him as usual.  There was the normal greeting from Yuuri's dad as he worked over paperwork at the front desk.  Victor casually asked where Yuuri was, hoping that he hadn't come back at a bad time.

Toshio told Victor that Yuuri was up in his room.

Yuuri was in his room on his laptop. Google wasn't helping him at all. It also didn't help that he had no clue what he was searching for. Russian diseases? Skating sickness? Victor Nikiforov medical?

 

He groaned and leaned back in his chair. He didn't want to out right ask Victor. That would entail confessing that he had followed him. "Ugh what should I do?"

Searching for Victor Nikiforov medical had been a huge mistake.  Ever since Victor had suddenly announced he was taking the year off, there had been wild speculation online as to why.  Victor himself, had mostly ignored the insane rumors, as he tended to stay away from the more fringe areas of the net anyway... but if Yuuri was searching for possible illnesses regarding Victor Nikiforov...

... Online, there was sufficient evidence that suggested Cancer.  The hair loss was a major factor in that.  The addendum of how much weight he had actually lost in the past years was a subject up for debate.  Victor's natural thin-ness became both a blessing and a curse in this regard.

Aids was another big rumor.  The kind of people who theorized about a figure skater's personal health, were not the sort of people who didn't take notice of Victor's obvious preference for male sexual partners, and a litany of theories regarding STDs was available and documented.

All of these things, were completely superfluous from Victor's own mind, as he walked up the stairs, and padded gently down the familiar hallway.  He barely knocked at all, simply calling out Yuuri's name as he slid the door to Yuuri's room open.  "Yuuri" he sang, "I'm home~"

Yuuri honestly didn't believe anything he found online about Victor. All of that was speculation and he was pretty positive if it was any of that, the man himself would have told him before they got together.

Yuuri jumped in his seat when he heard Victor at the door. He quickly closed his laptop and looked over. "Victor! W-welcome home! Did you get everything done you needed to?"

Just seeing the other man, just catching him in his light of sight, brought a light into Victor's eyes.

"Da."  He answered with a warm and contented quality coming into his voice.  He stepped into the room, coming to lay down next to, and a little bit on top of Yuuri as he snuggled close, nuzzling him affectionately.  Makkachin jumped up on the bed, and flanked Yuuri, snuggling up to his other side.  "All finished."

He crooned as he nuzzled on Yuuri.  "What did you get up to?"  and moved to go ahead and open Yuuri's laptop back up.  He was pretty sure nothing the other man could have been doing would've shocked him.

Yuuri immediately snuggled into him, wrapping his arms around him. What he didn't want Victor to know was that he was taking stock of him. He was trying to see if he find... something.

"Oh I just wandered around a little as I walked back home. Figured I'd scroll through the internet a little." It wasn't a total lie. "How about you? Do anything fun and exciting?" He smiled.

Victor laughed.  "No, not really.  I wandered around a little bit myself."  He laughed, and then remembered.  He reached around, into his front pocket.  "Oh!  I did find a store, that sold..."  He pulled the item from his pocket.  "This!"

 

He presented it to Yuuri.  It was a night time face mask, designed to look like a cute puppy face on the outside, while the inside was lined with soft silk.  "I thought you'd like it to wear on the plane tomorrow.  It's better than the ones the airline usually gives out."

Despite Yuuri's best efforts to discern, there was nothing obviously wrong with Victor.  He was skinny, lanky as always.  His body temperature was a little low and his skin was pale.  But there wasn't anything out of the ordinary.  He was just... him.

Yuuri chuckled and took the mask. "How cute!" He smiled and kissed him softly. "Thank you." He lightly stroked Victor's cheek, just looking at him. He seemed... normal. Maybe Yuuri was just freaking out over nothing.

He held him tightly with his other arm. "You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?"

"Of course I would."  A soft, reassuring kiss on his temple.  ... and then a frown.  "Why?  What's worrying you?"

He shook his head. "Oh n-nothing. Like I said, I was just browsing through the internet and you just wouldn't believe the crap that is on there."

... the internet?

Victor went ahead and finished lifting up Yuuri's screen, bringing up the page he was looking at last to see what it had to say.

...

Victor's face flatlined, in the most unamused face that had ever crossed his brows, his lips... just everything.

"Yuuri, I don't have Aids."  he assured him.

How did he get the fucking laptop?! Yuuri panicked slightly, but quickly relaxed. There was one thing to cross off the list.

He hugged him tight. "I had figured that one was definitely a no."

"What else have you been looking at."  Victor scowled, searching through the other wild theories that Yuuri had pulled up.

Okay.  Some of this hurt.  Some of this hurt, a little bit more than Victor wanted to admit.  The posters, that had been a silly thing from the time before Yuuri actually knew him.  But this stuff...  "... why were you looking this up?"

Yuuri bit his lip. Why hadn't he grabbed the computer? He sighed and sat up, sitting cross legged. "I... I may have followed you today..." He looked in his lap, fingers tightly holding the sleep mask. He couldn't bear to look at Victor.

"I saw you go into the clinic and I... I panicked. I was afraid something was wrong. I know I shouldn't have followed you, but I... I was curious and I let it get the better of me."

... Oh.  Victor sighed.  He really should have asked Yuuri to come along.

 

He closed the laptop, and pushed it away.  He scooped Yuuri up into his arms as he started to soothe him, petting the back of his head.

"This is exactly why I didn't ask you to come with me..."  Victor sighed.  "I know you get worried and I didn't want to bother you.  It was nothing.  Just a refill on my prescription.  Nothing more.  It didn't even take thirty minutes."

He curled into him, letting his shoulders relax a little. He didn't seem upset with him for following. He nodded softly.

"I... I didn't know you took medication. I thought it was just vitamins or something..." His voice was small.

Resting his cheek on Yuuri's head, he continued to stroke his fingers through Yuuri's thick hair.  This was a conversation Victor didn't really want to have, but the last thing he wanted was to stress his skater out right now.  ... and it'd probably be worse if he delayed it any longer.

"Mm..  Every morning."  He answered.  "Its the first thing I do."  he shifted, getting more comfortable as he held his partner.  "I was really sick.  But I'm mostly better now, and I take medicine to make sure I'll never get that sick again.  Okay?  ... I probably really should take some Vitamins too now that I think about it..."

Yuuri stiffened. He had been really sick...? Yes, he was better and his medicine was to make sure of that, but the thought that Victor had been sick made Yuuri feel... well sick.

"I had no idea..." He looked up at him. "But, everything is okay now?" He just needed the reassurance. The thought of something happening to him terrified the younger to no end.

Victor nodded, assuring him. "Everything's okay now"

His own throat was starting to choke up on him, feeling unusually tight. He could probably get away with leaving it off right here. He didn't really need to say anything else now that Yuuri was re-assured, right?  Right?

... Fuck.

"Stay right here."  He urged, getting up and separating himself from his better half. There was something in his room he needed to get

Yuuri blinked, shifting so Victor could get up. He brushed away some tears that had started to well. God, he didn't need to be so fucking emotional right now.

Victor hurried down the hallway back to his room as fast as he could without actually running, but it was pretty close. He fell down to his knees I front of his bookshelf, scanning the spines as he hurriedly searched for the right one. Which one would be best, which one was the best for explaining it to someone else...  At last he picked one. Pulling the violet tome from the shelf he ran back to Yuuri's room

 

He got up on Yuuri's bed, clutching the book to his chest tightly as he looked at Yuuri head on.

"I...  I'm still not ready to talk about it. ... About how sick I really was. Even though I'm better now and everything's fine, I still... " there was a moment where he stumbled on his words, not sure what to say, "when I am ready... You’re the first person I want to talk to about it. So, until then, this should ... Help you understand?" He offered, offering the book to Yuuri.

The book was titled, in English, "living with depression"

Yuuri took the book he offered. He read the title and... it made sense. Holy crap did it all make sense. Yuuri had his own battles with depression, it came with the anxiety, the self-deprecation.

He set the book down and wrapped his arms around Victor tightly. "Thank you..." He whispered. "I love you so much." He pulled back a little. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed... I was just so worried about you."

Waiting for Yuuri's reaction felt like forever.  It felt like he was teetering on the edge of a cliff.  And then...  He wrapped his arms equally as tightly around Yuuri, melting into the other just a little bit. He'd saved him.

"I love you too..."  He brought his hands up, running his hands through Yuuri's bangs to push them out of his eyes so he could look.  "I love you so much, I really..." He laughed.  "I should have just told you where I was going.  It’s not like I ever wanted to hide anything from you."

He smiled softly. "I know, but it was your secret to tell and I shouldn't have pushed." He held him tight. "But I'm glad you did and that you are willing to talk to me later about it."

Okay, he wasn't sure he could love Victor more... he had been so wrong.

Victor hugged him tightly.  He didn't want to let go.  Yuuri was his security point now, the place he was grounding himself on.  It wasn't... a fair responsibility, and he didn't want to burden Yuuri about it.  Victor took a deep breath, holding Yuuri to him.  At least he could make up for it by being the same thing for Yuuri.  Something strong he could depend on. 

Victor's depression was different from Yuuri's, it wasn't a consequence of anxiety - Victor knew he was the best, what was to be anxious about?  Victor's depression was the kind that was born out of isolation the morphed and solid shape of loneliness manifest.  But that was all things they could talk about later.  Right now... Victor just wanted to hold his partner, and let the fear and anxiety from the confession wash away with the comfort of each other.

Yuuri kissed his cheek, rubbing his back gently. "Hey, why don't we do something fun tonight? Anything you want." Though that statement, he knew, could come back to bite him in the ass.

Something fun?  Victor thought about it...  "Anything I want, hmm."  VIctor intoned, giving the question some thought.

A sudden grin spread across his face.  "We could watch a movie."

"We could. Do you have a certain movie in mind?"

"Sort of."  Victor said. "I actually really want to see your favorite movie.  Something from your childhood.  Like a cartoon.  What was your favorite movie you liked to watch?"

Yuuri thought for a moment, making a mental know to pull this on Victor another day. "Hmm..." A certain movie popped into his head. A sly grin erupting on his face. "There is a movie that I used to love. There is a bit of irony to it as well. I think we should watch it."

He ran to where his movies were, searching for the title. He came back, holding up the DVD, Anastasia.

"Oooh."  Victor applauded the movie.  It looked colorful and pretty, which was exactly what he was in the mood for.   Like any true Russian, Victor had absolutely NO idea what the story was about.

Victor scooted back on Yuuri's bed, nestling in the corner as he situated the pillows.  He beckoned for Yuuri to come cuddle up with him, between the crook of his legs where he had the laptop ready to sit down in the smaller man's lap.

"So what's ironic about it?"  he asked.

Yuuri grinned and curled up with him, putting the movie into the laptop. "Oh... I think you'll figure it out." He kissed his cheek, resting his head on his shoulder.

It took until the woman actually said the word "Russia" Before Victor finally figured it out.  He gave a soft chuckle as he cuddled Yuuri closer, his eyes sparkling as he watched the animation. 

As someone who'd grown up in Post Communist Russia, Victor hadn't actually heard all that much about Imperial Russia, and inside Russia itselfs the Romanovs hadn't been romanticized quite as much as they had throughout the rest of the world.

Yuuri smiled as he heard Victor chuckle. He knew how terribly inaccurate the movie was, but that didn't stop it from being one of his favorites. He guessed he liked the fairy tale aspect of the story.

He sighed contently. Being like this with Victor was so comfortable. He could really get used to it.

Victor tried to pay attention to Yuuri, but it didn't take long before he was wrapped up in the magic of the movie, getting into it through the narrative ups and downs.  Through the romantic parts he kissed on Yuuri.  As he watched his hands idly stroked on Yuuri's forearms, across his chest... just quietly being affectionate while he watched the screen flickering in front of them.

At the part where it goes "10 years later" Victor chimed in.  "That's the Russia I Know!"

Victor laughed out loud when the scene narrowed in on the People's orphanage. A dark Sardonic laugh before he quieted down to listen to the rest.

"Yuuri, does she learn how to skate?  Tell me she learns how to skate."

Yuuri smiled at Victor's reactions to the movie. He was being quite adorable. At the question, he shook his head.

"Sadly no, there is no ice skating. However, she does kind of learn to dance. The ballet is a big part of her finding out things." He laughed. "Pretty sure that is why Minako insisted we watch it all of the time."

"We should show this to Georgi."  Victor chuckled when it got to Rasputin's song.

He laughed. "Oh we should!" He grinned. He only knew Georgi from his most recent competition, but oh man did he make an impression. The outlandish make up he wore was something else.

Victor laughed, maybe a little too hard at the "Then stop bossing me around line."

He grinned and nuzzled Victor's shoulder. "I think Bartok might be might favorite..."

"I think I've met Bartok."  Victor murmured pointedly. "He wasn't a little bat mind you."

"And there's no way the communists would have let anyone live in that castle.  But I get what they're doing."

The train action scene had Victor clinging to Yuuri a little bit more tightly, as he worried about the character's safety.

"She looks like Ariel."  Victor cooed when they got to the boat scene.

Yuuri held him during the train scene. He chuckled. "A little"

[Chuckling deeply as he watched the Paris montage Victor leaned in to ask, "Have you ever been to Paris, solnyshko?"

Yuuri shakes his head. "No I haven't. I would love to go."

The scene at the ballet came and just watching all the characters dressed up and glittering, Victor's eyes were sparkling.  "I will have to take you.  You'd love it, especially at night."

"Ah, they just need to kiss already" Victor chuckled as he rubbed his hands all over Yuuri's chest excitedly.

"I can't wait to go with you," He smiled and nuzzles him. As he makes the statement about the kiss, Yuuri couldn't help but laugh. "Pretty sure that has been said about us."

"Hmm?"  Victor purred, tearing his attention away from the movie for a second to pay attention to Yuuri.  "But we did already."  And as if to illustrate his point, he gave Yuuri a kiss on his cheek.

"Well, yes, now. But before." He smiled and tightened his hold on him. He was glad Victor seemed to be enjoying the movie.

"Why on earth would he go back to Communist Russia!"  Victor demanded as they got to the scene where Dmitri was beginning to depart.

The very idea seemed to sit wrong with him, and he continued to sputter in disbelief at the movie, all the way until Rasputin showed up.  That settled him down as he watched the rest in awe.

Yuuri snickered at his remarks. He kind of pressed into Victor more as Rasputin showed up. Even now, as an adult who knew it was just a movie, the guy gave him the creeps.

Victor responded, holding on to Victor tightly as he watched the climax.  "Why is Das Vida Nya the only Russian phrase anyone seems to know."  He pondered out loud.  But he was cheering when Dmitri punched Rasputin, and on the edge of his... well, he was sitting more upright at the stone falling around.

And when the two main characters danced on the boat at the end, even before their lips kiss, Victor reached up to take Yuuri's chin in hand, as he planted a deep kiss on Yuuri's lips.

Yuuri had to sit up a little as the movie came to a climax. He was pretty sure he watched Victor more than the movie, but was equally entertained. As he took his chin, he smiled, kissing him back. He really was living a fairy tell

The two of them had continued to kiss and cuddle until they'd been called down for dinner - which wasn't that much longer after the movie had ended.  Victor made sure Yuuri was packed and ready to go before they enjoyed the inn's onsen and settled in to sleep for the night.  But as they laid there, falling asleep, staring up at the dark ceiling... ...there was something that just kept bugging Victor.  And the more time passed between the end credits and the present, the more it grated on him.

Until finally, in the middle of the night...  "... I don't get it. Why did she have to work so hard to find her family.  She had a perfectly good one to begin with..."

"Victor go to sleep." Yuuri muttered.

"Okay, okay."  He said closing his eyes.

... ... but still...

"But that woman actually raised her, she made a lot of scarifies for her.  She even got her a job.  Anya should have been grateful..."

The woman at the beginning of the movie, who was obviously the matron of the People's Orphanage that Anya grew up in. And who kept telling Anya to stop daydreaming about fancy things and go to her factory working job.  Like, Victor is being completely unreasonable siding with her on this.  A normal person would just go "Oh, poor Anya, growing up in an orphanage. The orphanage lady looks mean too."  ... Victor just is stubbornly defending her.

Yuuri opened an eye glaring at him. He sighed and sat up a little. "It wasn't that Anya was ungrateful. She just wanted to know where she came from. If you thought you had family out there, wouldn't you want to find them?"

"And Victor... you know who the old woman and Anya remind me of?" He grinned. "You and Yakov."

Victor furrowed his brow, trying to think about it.  The task was obviously more difficult, and about halfway through of following the thought train along, he defaulted back to his original position.

"No."  he reasoned.  "Because like I said, I would already know where I came from.  And what about all the other children at the Orphanage.  The ones waving at her when she left, don't you think they were worried about their big sister when she didn't show up?"

"What?"  he questioned."  How was she like Yakov?"

"You know where you come from, but she didn't. She lost her memories of her family when she hit her head. And yeah, I'm sure she cared for the other kids, but she had faith they would make their own way like she would. And besides, the old woman would look after them."

 

"And she is like Yakov because she was like a mentor to Anya and did things to help her make a way in life and then... she decides to up and go somewhere else? Sound familiar?"

"Well... when you put it that way."  He flushed a little... Okay, so Anya and the old woman were kind of like him and Yakov.   He stroked Yuuri's back, giving a sign that some of his agitation had been subsided.

There was a moment of silence while he mulled things over, and then more softly piped up again.  "Why didn't her grandmother look for her sooner?  She was just in an orphanage.  It wasn't like she was even that hard to find."

Yuuri relaxed a little at the touch. He curled closer to Victor. "That is a good question. I guess she was distraught by knowing the rest of her family was dead, that she just... assumed Anastasia was too? I mean... you know, years later she could have wondered if it were possible and why hadn't her granddaughter come find her so she offered a reward."

"That's a lot of a burden to put on a child."  Victor huffed, curling up against Yuuri too. "She should have checked the orphanages around St. Petersburg herself."

Victor sighed deeply, nuzzling Yuuri as his eyes started to drift close.  The issue, whatever it had actually been, apparently already resolved.  "If we ever lose our daughter that will be the first thing we do.  ... check the orphanages."

Yuuri stiffened. "Wait what?!"

"If we ever lose our daughter.  The first thing we'll do.  We'll check the orphanages."  He repeated, like it wasn't that difficult to understand. "We'll search everywhere.  We'll make sure she's never left wondering... " he yawned.  "Why we left her."

[Yuuri just stared at him for a good minute. Once his mind caught up he smiled softly, cuddling Victor close. "Okay. I would hope that we would never lose her though..."

"Mmhm!"  He cooed, his eyes shut tight now, so close to sleep as a smile sprawled across his face.  "We won't!  We'll be such good daddies.  She'll never want... for anything...."

Yuuri chuckled, running his fingers through Victor's hair as he fell asleep. While it would probably be a while before they ever had kids- wait... wow, Yuuri was shocked he even allowed himself to even think they would be together for that long.

He smiled at Victor's sleeping form and whispered. "You will be a great dad, Victor." He kissed his forehead and settled in for sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think.


	6. Chapter 6: Rostelecom Cup Part 1

Chapter 6

Rostelecom Cup Part 1

Yuuri stretched as they got off the plane. That hadn't been a terribly long flight but he always felt exhausted after flying. He shivered a little as they walked through the tunnel. "Geez, not even outside and I'm already freezing."

"Russia's always cold this time of year."  Victor said, stating the obvious.  He walked off the plane behind Yuuri, and set his scarf around Yuuri's neck, just as an extra layer of warmth for the Japanese man.  "Let’s just be thankful that we have jet lag working in our favor this time.  Easier going West than going East.  ... or is it the other way around?"  Victor pondered, tapping his fingers against his lips as he thought.

He went on and walked slightly ahead of Yuuri further up the boarding ramp.  Victor had a lot on his mind, flying back into Russia - and he was certain Yuuri had as much or more on his.

"How are you feeling? Tired?"

cuddled into the scarf, taking a deep breath. It smelled of Victor. He smiled softly and followed after him. "I think you're right? I'm not sure." He chuckled.

"I'm doing okay. Just a little tired and stiff." He wondered what all was going through Victor's mind. This was his first time back in Russia since coming to train him.

put his hands in his pockets.  It would be better once they got into the airport, but it would get just as bad again once they got their luggage and hailed a cab.

"Alright.  We'll do some stretches once we get back to the hotel.  We should at least try to stay up until 8 if we want to be on the right time table for tomorrow."  he sighed.  "The skaters who arrived yesterday are going to have an advantage over us..."

Victor had wanted to arrive sooner, but between the doctor's appointment and wanting to go to the NHK cup, there hadn't really been a lot of choice in the matter.

Yuuri nodded in agreement. He was right after all. "We should be okay, I think. I mean, we've seen that I can be semi-functional on little sleep" He chuckled, remembering the day of the free skate at the Cup of China.

"So... are you glad to be back in your home country?"

"Hm."  Victor intoned softly, as he gave it some thought.  But it was only seconds before a determined grin crossed his face.

"Niet."

They had made it to the moving walk way, that would carry them past the near-terminal gates and off to baggage claim.  Victor stood still and watched the landscape pass by through the large glass walls that lined the corridor between gates.  Grey skies and snow flecked hills rolled by outside.  " 'Glad doesn't even begin to cover it!"

He smiled. "Maybe you can show me around while we are here."

He looked out as they rode by. He wasn't nervous about being here. After all, he took this country’s prized skater for himself. He grinned a little. He wasn't sorry at all.

"I'm going to do better than that."  Victor grinned, his smile curling around at the edges deviously as he proclaimed.  "I'm going to show you around to Russia!"

Yuuri leaned away from him, slightly afraid. "Oh boy... I should be afraid now, shouldn't I?"

"Of course not.  Like I just said.  All of Russia should be afraid of you!  Look at this cold land, Yuuri!"  He said, leaning on the handrail as the scenery Rolled on behind them.  "Look at this cold, desolate land!  This cold - desolate - unforgiving -unfeeling - unrelenting land! We're going to show them what real passion looks like!  Going to teach them the Hot, Steamy ways of Hasetsu!"

Okay... he might have been getting a little too excited as he started to raise his fists into the air.

Yuuri inched away from him little by little. He had lost it. "Yeah... okay I think you need more sleep than me right now, Victor."

"Maybe..." Victor chuckled.  "I know a good café we can get a little bite to eat at near the hotel. Oh- or we could go and look for more traditional Russian foods."

Yuuri thought for a moment. "I think we should go to the café and be more adventurous later."

That gave Victor a hearty reason to chuckle.  "I like how what I considered the safer option was 'more adventurous' for you. "

They're reached the end of the moving walkway.  Victor stepped off with ease, and waited on Yuuri before heading onward.   Most of the signs were in Cyrillic, but there were a few that also had Latin and Chinese alphabets.  Thus, Victor took it upon himself to lead most of the way, following the signs as he walked slightly ahead of Yuuri.  His hands shoved steadily in his pockets.

"It was either near the hotel or go venturing off. I figured close to the hotel was safest."

He followed after Victor, allowing him to lead. It was mostly because he couldn't read most of the signs he saw.

Victor was being careful.  When they had to stop for the escalator, or when they stopped to wait on the baggage ferry.  Victor stood close to Yuuri, but he kept his hands in his pocket, his eyes carefully scanning the crowd around them as much as he was looking out for their luggage.

It took a while getting the bags, and then standing with them in Customs.  Only America was more difficult to get into.

Then it was time to have their passports checked.  Victor gave Yuuri a worried look.  His brows knitted together.  "Yuuri, I have to go stand in a different line.  Are you going to be okay getting in from here?"

Yuuri looked at Victor and nodded, noting how worried he looked. He smiled softly. "Of course. This isn't my first time going through here." He gently patted his arm. "Go on and I'll meet you when we are finished."

"Ah.  Of course.  Right."  Victor said, reminding himself not to coddle Yuuri, as much as he wanted to.  "I'll see you on the other side."  He said, leaning in to give Yuuri a kiss to his forehead - only to stop himself mid lean.

It was already too much.  Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a mother, blocking her child's line of vision with her hand as she steered him away into the citizen's immigration lines.  Victor straightened up.  Turned to head that direction himself.

Yuuri looked at Victor, confused as to his reaction. He glanced in the direction of the woman and her child. Ah... he knew what it was. He gently patted Victor's arm as he turned and whispered, "It's okay."

He got in line and got his passport ready to be checked. He sighed to himself. Relationships like his and Victor's was looked down upon here, probably most than other countries. He would make sure to be careful as to their interactions while here.

Except it wasn't okay.  It really wasn't.  At least in Japan the taboo was PDA in general, not just the kind that labeled Victor as a deviant.  He offered Yuuri a weak smile before parting, reaching back to give the other man's arm a gentle squeeze before he moved on, and stood in the citizen’s immigration line.

He ended up standing right behind the older woman and her child, putting on a blank expression as he tried not to look directly at them, like it didn't bother him how the mother was shielding her son from him, or how much space she was putting between herself and him.

But it was fine.  A shadow hung below Victor's brow, shadowing his eyes in darkness, his lips pursed together in a line that was neither a smile nor a frown.  He got his passport out as he waited.

It was harder, here in Russia, where Victor was only average height and a sea of people stood above and below him.  He scanned the crowd, looking for Yuuri to see how he was getting along in his line.

Yuuri looked around as he waited. He spotted Victor's silver hair and smiled. Then he noticed the woman in front of him. He glared. He hated how horrible people could be.

He was almost up to the counter. He gripped his passport tight.

Just spotting Yuuri in the crowd, brightened Victor's whole world. Seeing him, he smiled - really smiled.  Yuuri had been right.  It was okay.  It was going to be.

It was slightly frustrating, that the citizen immigration line took longer than foreign immigration - but Russia was, what it was.

By the time he was almost up to the counter, and the line had doubled back on itself, someone managed to recognize Victor - they weren't an avid sports fan, but they're recognized him from the Olympics a few years back.  Victor smiled and chatted with them, took a selfie with them and signed autographs before the line moved on.

By the time it was his turn at the window with the custom's clerk, he was somewhat exhausted.  The Clerk gave a surprised click of his tongue, recognizing the name of the grand champion even if he hadn't recognized his face immediately - and offered Victor a pleasant "welcome home" before stamping his passport and directing him on inside the gate.

 

Victor hurried.  He just hated being separated from Yuuri like this.

Yuuri watched as Victor was recognized by a fan. He smiled. He should have expected this. Victor was this nation’s current skating champion.

He grinned as he got closer. "Meeting your adoring fans?"

"I think they were more interested in soccer than me."  Victor smiled as he was reunited with Yuuri.  He just couldn't help himself anymore, and as soon as he got close he gave Yuuri a warm Hug.

He was surprised by the hug, but immediately reciprocated. He chuckled, turning into a full-blown laugh, shoulders shaking. "I... I can't imagine you playing soccer."

"Hey now.  If you laugh that hard I think I might actually get offended."  He stated.  But he wasn't about to get offended at all.  Not by Yuuri.  Not with that grin on his face, or the way the image of the Japanese man sparkled and danced in his blue eyes.

He calmed his laughter, smiling brightly at him. "Oh, I would never offend you." He grabbed his hand and his suitcase. "Come on. Let's find a cab."

"Ah- ah!" Victor flushed when Yuuri grabbed his hand.  He let the other man pull him for a little way, carrying is own luggage behind in tow, but after a few steps, Victor dropped Yuuri's hand.

Yuuri looked back with a frown as he dropped his hand, but quickly remembered. "Crap... sorry. I need to be more careful here don't I?"

Victor had tried adjusting the strap of his Messenger bag, to make it look like he hadn't just... dropped Yuuri's hand on purpose.  It was a fool’s cover, and no doubt the Japanese man had seen straight through him.  He offered an apologetic smile to his partner. 

"It's not safe."  Was his answer.

Yuuri nodded, keeping his eyes down. "I get it." He took a breath and looked up at him, trying to keep any emotion off his face. "Let's get to the hotel, Coach."

That look, nearly broke Victor's heart.  He looked down himself, clenching his own fist as he found his resolve. "Right… The hotel."  He murmured. And then looked up with steely determination, the edges of his mouth turned up in the hint of a smile that his eyes didn't quite match.  He turned from Yuuri, leading them to the curb where he could hail for a taxi.

Yuuri felt bad. He was definitely going to make this up to Victor once they got to the hotel. He wanted to be close to him, but he felt like he needed to keep some space between them.

As the cab pulled up, Yuuri moved to put his suitcase in the trunk. He couldn't wait to get to the hotel and finally relax.

Victor was tense.  He didn't show it when he talked to other people.  Or when another group of fans noticed them while they were putting their luggage in the taxi back.  Unlike in Japan, they were definitely honing in on Victor, and he was all smiles as he talked with them, and encouraged them to watch the competition this weekend.  He played disappointed when they said they would be routing for Yuri Plisetsky instead of Yuuri Katsuki, but he waved them off before getting into the taxi with a heavy sigh.

The cab driver, lit up when he saw the Russian figure skater enter his taxi, and quickly began cheering and talking to him in Russian.  Apparently, his daughter had actually attended Yakov's summer camp two years ago, and was madly in love with the Silver haired gold medalist.

Although Yuuri didn't speak Russian, he got the gist of the group of fans conversation. He smiled a little when he heard the other Yuri's name. Of course they would cheer for him. Home competitor on home turf. It really didn't bother him.

He slid into the taxi and buckled in. He glanced at Victor, surprised when their driver started speaking excitedly. He chuckled to himself. Another Viktor fan.

It couldn't be helped.  Russia was more interested in Figure skating than most of the world.  It was no wonder they had produced a super star like Victor, and it was no wonder that so many people recognized him.    He wasn't just a living legend, he was a National Treasure.

Victor chatted with the Taxi driver in a lively fashion.  And after a while he patted Yuuri's knee, and gestured for him to lean up along with him while the Taxi driver started pulling out his phone for a photo.

Yuuri looked over as he felt his hand on his knee. He had been enjoying watching the city fly by as they drove. He looked at the phone and back at Victor. He seriously doubted the guy wanted some unknown nobody skater in the picture, but he went along with it.

The three of them got a photo together while they were at a stoplight.  Victor could tell something was off with Yuuri, and he wasn't that surprised.  Something was off with himself as well.    He patted Yuuri's shoulder, whispering to him softly in English.  "It will be better when we're with the other skaters.  You'll see."  He assured him.

But then the driver called for his attention, resuming the lively Russian conversation.

Yuuri smiled a little and nodded at what Victor said. That's exactly what Yuuri was waiting for. He sat back, resuming looking out the window as the two Russians spoke.

He paid some attention, mostly when Victor spoke. He loved hearing him speak his mother tongue. It just flowed so beautifully.

Even if Yuuri didn't know it, the topic of conversation had turned to him.  The Taxi driver, while not actually familiar with the Japanese skater himself, was aware Victor had left Russia to go train this foreigner, and was quite interested in him.  Victor was more than eager to tell him all about Yuuri, his face lighting up as he talked about him and his skating animatedly.  The excitement made the driver laugh.

"So, is he your boyfriend? or something?"  The driver finally asked, remarkably casually - which Shocked Viktor.

His eyes went wide, and he paused for a moment, not sure how to answer such a direct question.

 

The driver quickly waved the fears away.  "Oh, don't get me wrong.  I'm not one of those people who cares.  It would actually make me feel better knowing you instructed my daughter in sports if you were interested in men!"

Victor laughed at that, leaning back in the seat as he put his arm around Yuri.  "I think we're better at leaving it for the tabloids to decide then, don't you?"  He chuckled, giving the driver a wink through the rear-view mirror.   The gesture, only made the driver laugh.

Yuuri jumped as he felt Victor's arm around him. His head whipped around, shock on his face. After all of that in the airport, the hell was he thinking?! He glanced wearily at the driver. He looked... fine?

He tried to relax a little as the man laughed. Whatever Victor had said to him... he didn't seem angry at the gesture. His breathing became a little harried, his nerves being completely shot by this point. He took a deep breath, looking out the window, but scooting closer to Victor.

Victor was able to relax a little bit the rest of the drive.  The topic of conversation switched to a more solemn one, as the driver began to bring up the subject of... his own son.  It was funny, how parents always seemed to know.  Victor felt a little bit more comfortable that his gesture toward Yuuri had not been made in error, and he rubbed Yuuri's shoulder appreciatively as he listened to the driver talk.  As for himself, Victor was trying not to talk politics - only giving platitudes about how great the Motherland was, but also lending a sympathetic ear.

In the end, when they pulled into the hotel, the driver still had more to say, and Victor continued to sit and listen as he finished, letting his story wind down to a natural close.

Victor leaned over the back of the front seat and giving the driver a consoling grip on his shoulder.   "Stay strong, my brother."   He told him.  "Now, how much do I owe you?  Do you take credit card?"

There was then a fight, heated in heavy Russian, about whether or not Victor actually owed anything or whether the picture and listening to the long story had constituted payment or not.    The fight continued outside of the taxi, as Victor kept trying to hand the man money and he kept refusing.

Yuuri could tell the driver thought very highly of Victor. He admired how attentive Victor was being to the man, even as they arrived at the hotel.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the debate between the two Russians. He could easily tell what they were arguing over. Yuuri got the driver's attention and bowed, thanking him in what little Russian he knew.

The middle aged Russian man, had no idea what to do with that.  For a moment, he wanted to reach out and touch the Japanese man's head...  ...but thought better of it after a second, and instead attempted an awkward bow back.

That was enough to get a loud laugh out of Victor, and presented him with an opportunity to slip the money into the driver's front shirt pocket, and run off to the back to get their luggage.  Victor was already walking away, motioning for Yuuri to hurry up and join him as he waved away.

Evidently, he had been generous, and the driver waved them away, with thanks and cheers in Russian.

Yuuri smiled apologetically at the man and grabbed his luggage. He followed after Victor. "Didn't intend for that to be the distraction you needed to slip him the money, but I'll take it." He grinned.

"Well I'm glad you did.  It would have been terrible if he'd let me leave without paying."  Victor smiled, easily walking into the hotel.  There were already other skaters and coaches who'd arrived earlier in the week milling around, debating on what to get for dinner.

He looked around and noticed a few people he recognized. "Do we want to check in and drop off our stuff before scouring for dinner?"

"I think that sounds like a good idea.  Better than trying to carry it around with us."  He reasoned.  Victor was already pulling the papers from where he had made the reservations online out from his coat pocket, and moving toward the desk.

Yuuri waited off to the side with their luggage. He looked around the lobby, relaxing slightly. Getting from the plane to here had been way too tense. He wasn't on as friendly terms with the skaters here as he was at the cup of China.

Victor came to join Yuuri after a short discussion with the receptionist.  He handed Yuuri the envelope containing their keys, and the wifi password.  "Already to go up?"

"More than ready" He smiles at him and heads towards the elevator.

Victor was pretty quiet as they rode the elevator, seeming to go back to his no touching policy, of keeping his hands in his pockets.  It was a far cry from the last time they'd rode an elevator, where Victor couldn't keep his hands off Yuuri.

Yuuri absolutely hated this. Victor not being handsy was so weird. The second the door was open, Yuuri was out of there and almost wanted to run to the room.

"-Ah!  Yuuri!  Wait up!"  Victor shouted, and chased after him down the hall, his suit case trailing behind him.

Yuuri slowed down, feeling bad for running off without him. Plus, he had the keys. "Sorry."

"It’s alright."  Victor smiled at him.  "I just didn't realize you were in that much of a hurry.  Is everything alright?"  He tried to keep up with the pace Yuuri had set, even after he'd caught up to him - just in case there was a reason Yuuri needed to get into the room quickly.  He was already getting his key out from his pocket, eyeing the room numbers as they were narrowing in.

Yuuri started to nod, but shook his head. "Not really, but let's just get inside first, okay?"

"Okay.  Okay.  Ah, look, here it is."  Victor chirped. trying to keep the sound of a good mood up.  He could practically feel Yuuri's mood crashing and was eager for whatever he could do to lift it.  And right now, that seemed to be getting in the room.

He fumbled with the lock for a second, the automatic card swiper not wanting to register the card on the first pass... or the second.  But by the third-time Victor got the timing of the key card reader right, and opened the door, letting it swing open so Yuuri could go in first.

Yuuri slipped inside, not has hastily as he had been before. Again, he felt bad for rushing Victor. The second he heard the door shut, he took in his first real breath since they had landed.

He turned and looked at Victor. "I'm not saying hate, but I strongly dislike Russia at this moment. How do you do it? How do you live like that all the time? That women at the airport... god, if looks could kill we would be dead or at least critical." The floodgates had opened.

[Victor just looked at Yuuri as he let it all out.  Yuuri never stopped surprising him.  More importantly, he never stopped impressing him.  The whole-time Victor had been worried Yuuri was angry at him for not being affectionate.  He was worried that Yuuri was worried that he didn't still love or was embarrassed of him, or something other equally ridiculous worry that he was going to have to dispel.  Hearing that Yuuri had actually just been angry at, well, /Russia/ ...  it touched Victor.

He smiled, and tilted his head to the side as he gave his answer.  "I don't."

He just stared at the man. He was sure he looked like a frog with his mouth open. "Right..." That's when it hit him. Victor had been distant and hands off the whole time to protect Yuuri, not himself. His brief return to normalcy in the cab was because their driver must have been okay with it.

Alright, fine. He had decided then and there. Russia wasn't going to intimidate him anymore. He was going to intimidate Russia. He walked towards Victor and pulled him close by the lapels of his coat, kissing him hard.

That was it!  That was the spirit he had been trying to convey when they'd first touched down.

Victor wasn't 'Glad' to be back in his Motherland.  But he was excited.  He was fired up.  He was eager to show everyone what they'd been missing - and it wasn't something he could actually show them.  He was Eager to show Yuuri to them, not for their approval, or for their delight, but to rub it in their faces.  Victor had brought Yuri to Russia, and he was going to show them what they were missing!

All that fire, all that passion, Victor put into returning the kiss, leaning down into it hard enough to push Yuuri further back into the room, as he wrapped his arms around his skater's slender waist.  Instantly Victor's hands where all over Yuuri.  Every touch he'd held back, every time he'd wanted to brush a bang out of Yuuri's forehead, or rest his cheek against Yuuri's, or hold his hand or something else that he just wasn't allowed to do - It was coming out now.  Dear God, it had only been such a short trip and already Victor felt like a dam of repressed desired threatening to burst out.

Yuuri gasped as he felt Victor touch him... well everywhere. He smiled into the kiss as he pressed into him. It was amazing how quickly stress could melt away with the right person.

Yuuri broke the kiss when the need for air arose. After taking a breath, he was about to go back in for another when his stomach let out a ferocious growl. He couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of him.

Victor couldn't help but chuckle either, even as one of his roving hands found a home tangled for a second in Yuuri's hair.  He used his leverage to steal another quick but impassioned kiss as his grinned back down to his partner.  "Let’s go get something to eat before we eat each other, Yeah?"

Yuuri leaned into his touch, smiling after the kiss. "Yeah..." He chuckled. "Probably for the best."

Victor was about to let Yuuri go - was about to go get his suit case and wheel it into a spot more appropriate than right next to the door.  ... But he just couldn't.  He snatched Yuuri back close to him just as soon as he'd let him go.  His hands quickly moving to touch every part all over again.

"Just let me touch you for a little longer."  He cooed, certain that he was on some cloud somewhere up in heaven at that very moment.

Yuuri let Victor indulge a little while longer, not that he didn't mind one bit. Finally, though, food had become a necessity and they headed out to get dinner.

Victor had insisted on grabbing some coffee from a stand on the way back. Yuuri passed considering he didn't need to be more jittery for the competition. As they entered the hotel, Yuuri noticed the mass amounts of press hanging around. He knew why. He had told Victor he would meet him in the room. As he slipped away to the elevators, he noticed the mob going after his coach.

One awkward encounter with the other skaters, and an amusing elevator ride with Yurio, Yuuri flopped on the bed in their room. It was quiet. Peaceful. He sighed, relaxing into the bed.

The interviews with the press went about like Victor had expected them too.  His attempts to throw them off onto Yurio hadn't gone quite as well as Victor had hoped.  He simply took too much glee in teasing his junior to get away fast enough, that the press locked back on him, allowing Yurio to go up to his own room for some peace and quiet.

All the while Victor carefully dodged the real questions, and turned everything back around to be about the current skaters, at the current competition.  But, when was he planning on coming back to the ice?  It was the only question they seemed to really want to know.  Like it was a foregone conclusion that he was going to? How could he answer them when the real answer amounted to, 'Can't you see how miserable you people were making me? Why would I want to?'  It was moments like these that made Victor regret the loss of Yakov as a protective barrier between him and the press.

It wasn't until JJ passed by, that Victor was able to throw the press off him.  The press wasn’t particularly interested in JJ, but the Canadian seemed so impressed with himself that he was actually eager to talk to the press.  Thank goodness for small miracles.  It was the perfect opportunity for Victor to slip away.

The elevator was empty on his ride up, and his coffee was now long gone. Victor missed Yuuri's warmth next to him.

Down the hallway where he saw nobody, Victor used his keycard to open the door.

"Ah."  He let out an audible sigh as he let the door close behind him, as he scanned the room for Yuuri.  "That was exhausting.  I'm exhausted."  He said flatly, hoping Yuuri wasn't already asleep as he started to take his coat and outer layers off.

Yuuri sat up as he heard Victor come in. He smiled softly at the sight of him. "Sorry for escaping like that... but I appreciate you letting."

"It's my job."  Victor mumbled as he crawled on top of the bed, still in his sweater and slacks, his shoes having been kicked off next to his neatly folded coat.  He reached out and pet Yuuri's head as he slid in close to the other man.  "The press will get plenty of time to interview you after your skate.  No sense in letting them monopolize you before the punch."

He chuckled, wrapping his arms around Victor, cuddling close. He nuzzled into his neck, humming softly. "I see... does that mean that you want to monopolize me before then?"

"Absolutely, I do." He purred softly against the other man's crown of dark hair.  Victor took a deep breath, inhaling Yuuri's scent.  He loved the way the other man smelled, it was hard to place the exact scent, but it was intoxicating and he loved it.

"That reminds me."  Victor purred softly.  "I have some advice for you.  Not as your coach.  This would be way too irresponsible advice for your coach to give to you. So, let’s just say, some friendly advice, from an older skater to a younger one."

Yuuri pulled back slightly. He raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh? And what would this advice be? Better be good come from such an... older skater." He gave him a cheeky grin.

Victor smiled, he rolled onto his back so that he could better look up at Yuuri, and lets his hand's find their way to Yuuri's, let their fingers intertwine.

"You have a boyfriend now.  My advice before a competition - is that you use him.  Pour all of your pent-up stress into him and just use him in any way that you like."  He gave Yuuri a wink.  "I'm sure he won't mind."

Yuuri just stared at the man for a good minute. His brain processing what Victor had said. He would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about... well... sex. He had been seriously thinking about it. And after everything that had happened since they got here...

He smiled. "You know something... that may be the best advice I've ever gotten." He leaned in, kissing him softly, burying a hand in his hair.

Victor arched his shoulders up off the bed, so that he could press into Yuuri that much more as he kissed him.

Of course, Victor hadn't actually meant sex, but he hadn't not meant it either.  He'd meant exactly what he'd said - He just wanted Yuuri to use him, as much or as little as he wanted. He wanted Yuuri to selfishly take from him anything he wanted, and after ten months of being his coach, two weeks of absolute heaven being his boyfriend, the nerves Victor had felt on their first night together were completely gone.   He was ready to give himself entirely to Yuuri.

Though, honestly, if he kept thinking like he should be, like a coach, and not the love struck fool that he was - given that Yuuri's short program was all about eroticism and seduction, it might have been a better idea to keep Yuuri a little pent up.  But they were here, in a hotel room sequestered away from prying eyes, together, and Victor wanted this - and what could possibly be gained by denying any part of himself to the man he loved so deeply?

His hands slid up Yuuri's back, gently caressing him as they embraced.

He hummed, pressing close to him. His back arched into Victor's touch. He pulled back just enough to look into his eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too, Yuuri."  Victor breathed out, not even a moment of hesitation as he looked up at Yuuri.  He ran his hands down Yuuri's back this time, feeling all of the other man's tight and toned muscles, just under his skin, feeling the curve of his body just beneath his clothes.  His hands, ever prone to wandering, fell on Yuri's hips and beyond, grabbing onto the seat of Yuuri's pants and giving him an appreciative squeeze.

He squeaked a little as he squeezed him. "Hey now..." He smiled, blushing brightly. He leaned in, kissing along Victor's jaw. He moved a knee between his legs, gently rubbing against his groin. He was shaking from anticipation and nerves, but he wanted this... he wanted to love Victor more than anything.

Victor leaned his head back, giving Yuuri better access to his neck as he let out a soft groan.  His knees trembled as Yuuri's knee pushed them apart - which came as a surprise to Victor.  He wasn't a virgin, far from it.  It wasn't even his first time with Yuuri, but for some reason it felt like it was.  The way Yuuri was shaking, it was like they both were all over again.  Maybe it was because it meant so much more now.  Their hearts were so much more exposed now, laid bare to each other.

Victor was, certainly, already erect beneath his clothes, his hardness pressing into Yuuri's knee as the other man ground it against him, eliciting another needy groan from Victor.  He rolled his hips up, seeking more of that friction.  He hiked his own leg up between Yuuri's thighs, but his position wasn't as good, scraping against Yuuri's balls at best.

Yuuri moaned against Victor's neck as he felt his knee brush against him. He kissed lower, moving towards his collar bone before sucking hard. He wanted to leave his mark, but made sure it could be covered tomorrow. Yuuri knew the suit would hide it. It wasn't for the world to see, only them.

He hummed at the response he was getting. His hands, once tangled in Victor's hair, were now running down his sides, slowly moving his shirt up so they could feel his smooth skin.

With his pale skin, Victor was easy to bruise, and it didn't take much suckling to bring the blood forward. Victor was humming along, enjoying how every touch of Yuuri on his skin felt like a spark, like electricity running through him - and then Yuuri got to his sensitive spot, the hollow of his neck between his Adam’s apple and his collar bone.  His groans shifted into outright moans as Yuuri's lips glided across that spot, and kept up as he could feel skin getting suctioned between Yuuri's lips.

He rolled his hips up again, making it clear just how aroused the other was making him.    Reluctantly, he let his own hands trace back up the length of Yuuri's Back, getting ready to lift his arms up so Yuuri could finish taking his sweater and shirt off him.

"Yuuri" Victor murmured breathlessly, and pleading.

This was absolute heaven. The sounds Victor was making, the way he moved in reaction to Yuuri was intoxicating. He lifted his head, looking into his eyes. He smiled softly as his hand gripped the hems of the tops Victor wore.

"I could kiss you forever, you know that?" He gently tugged the clothing up, wanting to see more of that gorgeous porcelain skin.

"It feels like you already have been."  Victor said with a warm smile on his face.  It wasn't a complaint, just an admittance for how easy it was to lose time with Yuuri, how much he lost himself in Yuuri's arms.

 

He readily lifted his arms up over his head, lifting his shoulders off the bed, so that Yuuri could pull the loose-fitting sweater and shirt combo over his head with ease.  Victor's skin was pale, and tight over his lean muscles.  He'd lost a little bit of muscle tone since April, and if anything, his was just a little bit too skinny, his ribs showing through just a little, but his shoulders were broad, and his pale skin was nearly perfectly unmarred, except for the marks Yuuri himself had left on his collarbone.

Sitting up a little after his shirts were gone, Victor reached for the hem of Yuuri's own shirt, tugging them up and over, trying to get rid of them quickly.

Yuuri raised his arms so that Victor could get his shirt off. He blushed as his hands went down to Victor's chest. He moved them along every dib and curve. As he got to his ribs he glanced up.

"Need to feed you more katsudon when we get home." He smiled softly and leaned down, placing sot kisses along his pecs.

Victor had tossed Yuuri's shirt haphazardly off the side of the bed, letting it land where ever it may, but when Yuuri's hands rolled along his ribs, Victor couldn't help but fall back against the bed, letting another soft moan roll past his lips.

That came as a surprise, even to Victor.  His ribs were sensitive?  How did he not know that about himself?

"You should feed me more Katsudon while we're here." He retorted between soft gasps for air.

He wanted a turn touching Yuuri, wanted a turn feeling every part of his lover, but the way Yuuri kept positioning himself...  Victor rolled his hands over Yuuri's shoulders, letting his fingers sink in deep as he raked the flats of his fingertips against Yuuri's beautiful pale ochre skin, loving the contrast it made against his own ruddy pallor.  His fingers made their way, tracing the lines along Yuuri's neck, and then tangling against those thick midnight strands as he let his fingernails scratch against Yuuri's scalp.  He ran his thumbs across the bridges of Yuuri's ears, remembering how sensitive they were, but certain that this wasn't enough.  This wasn't enough to repay Yuuri for how good he was making him feel.

["Vy znayete, skol'ko tsvetov vy prinosite v svoy seryy mir" He murmured in a deep husky voice, not entirely realizing he'd said the phrase out loud.

He chuckled. "Not sure we can find decent katsudon here in Russia..." He leaned down as Victor's touched him. His head tilted into his touch as he moved from his neck to his hair. He took a shuddering breath as he felt his thumbs rub against his ears. His eyelids were half closed as he enjoyed the attention.

His eyes opened as he heard the Russian phrase. He looked down at him, almost nuzzling the hands on his head- "What does that mean?" It came out soft, almost like a whisper.

"Ah?"  Victor intoned, a little surprised that Yuuri had heard what'd he'd just said at all.  It made an opening, for Victor to lean up and begin placing a gentle string of kisses, starting from Yuuri's cheek bone as he licked and kiss a line back to Yuuri's ears while he caressed his head, and his face.  He was able to press their chest together, feeling the wonderful sensation of skin against skin that still wasn't quite enough...

 

"It means..."  he whispered into Yuuri's ear, only after he'd been able to trace his tongue along the ridge that ran just along the rim.  "You bring so much color into my grey world."

And as he spoke, a hand moved, falling along Yuuri's arm, and taking his hand.  Placing at last Yuri's palm just over his heart.

Yuuri panted softly, turning his head to grant him more access. His arm snaked around Victor's torso, hugging him close. The other remained on his chest. He shivered as he felt his warm breath on his ear, moaning as his tongue made contact.

At the translation, tears welled in Yuuri's eyes. He looked at Victor, then to their hands as he moved his to over his heart. Looking back up, he smiled softly. "I could say the same about you. I never... ever thought I would get this lucky. To have someone like you in my life... it's more than a dream come true."

"Then, if it's a dream come true for you too."  Victor said, his emotions welling up so much, choking him in his throat.  His forehead to Yuuri's looking him deeply in the eye as he felt the other man's heart beating in time with his own fluttering heart. "Let’s just keep dreaming together.  Even more.  More and more fantastic things together."

He leaned up, and kissed the corners of Yuri's eyes, drying the other man's tears with the wetness of his lips.  Victor had thought he was going to be the first of them to cry - he couldn't let Yuuri show him up now.

The hand on Yuuri's chest dropped lower, gracing across Yuuri's abs as he made his way down to the waist of Yuuri's pants.  He traced his fingers along the inside of top band, debating on trying to remove them right away, but instead reached down, to cup Yuuri's crotch in his palm, giving it an affectionate squeeze.

Yuuri couldn't stop smiling. Victor was so sweet and amazing. He squirmed a little as he felt his fingers along the band of his pants. He was semi-erect already and he knew it wouldn't take much more to push him further.

He squeaked as Victor squeezed him, jumping a little. Laughing, he playing hit his arm. "Such a tease."

“Who's teasing?"  Victor growled playfully, a smirk planted across his lips as he leaned up and claimed Yuuri's lips as his own.

But that was enough of the cue Victor needed to start undoing Yuuri's pants.  Unfastening the button, and carefully drawing the zipper down.  Yuri hadn't been as hard as Victor had hoped, but he intended to fix that.

Yuuri watched him as he worked to undo his pants, shifting as needed. This wasn't the first time he had been naked with Victor, not by a long shot. But still he... he couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. The man before him was gorgeous and Yuuri was just... average.

Maybe in Yuuri's eyes.  But in Victor's eyes... Yuuri was magnificent, and he loved everything about him.  The stretched marks that crisscrossed Yuuri's sides, reminding victor of scratch marks.  Here at the peak of the season, the way his skin gleaned over his taught muscles, but there was still a soft and supple curve on his shoulders and along his waist.  He was beautiful and Victor just couldn't get enough of him.

 

His mouth fell along Yuuri's jugular, taking his own time to lick and nip at the other, though being careful not to leave any marks.  He shimmied Yuuri's pants down, and slipped his hand into Yuuri's undergarment, taking hold of the other man's semi-erect cock in his palm, as he carefully began to stroke and caress the stiffening member, feeling how it's weight shifted as he brought it to attention.

Yuuri gasped as Victor's hand found its way into his underwear. Between his hand on his cock and his lips on his skin...

"V-Victor..." He rolled his hips. His hands went to his pants, fumbling to get them undone. He wanted them both to be completely naked.

Victor had to lean back on the bed again to give Yuuri enough room to work.  It was fine.  He wanted to work Yuuri's pants off the rest of the way too.  While he leaned back, he hooked his thumbs into the waist of Yuuri's underwear, tugging them and eventually his pants down his hips as he was over Victor.

When Yuuri finished the clasp of Victor's pants, Victor was all too happy to lift up his hips, and bend his legs however Yuuri needed to get the last remaining shreds of fabric off.  Once his pants were gone, Victor would even kick off his socks just so that there wasn't a single inch of fabric to separate them.

Yuuri moved off of Victor, tugging his pants off, tossing them with their other clothes. He wiggled the rest of the way out of his own, shivering slightly. It wasn't cool in their room by any means.

He lightly brushed his fingers over Victor's thighs. "Better?" He smiled.

"Much better."  Victor purred, admiring the view of Yuuri's body.  He absently stroked his own cock, giving it a few slow strokes as he waited for Yuuri to rejoin him.  He'd rather be touching Yuuri than himself, and as soon as the other man came back in reach he abandoned himself in favor of letting his hands roam across the flat of Yuuri's chest, feeling the shape of his pecs.

Unable to help himself, Victor gave Yuuri's nipple a light squeeze, before flicking his thumb across it, caressing him further. His other hand went right back to Yuuri's cock, giving it a loving caress, and rolling his balls across his fingers as he welcomed Yuuri to him, parting his thighs for Yuuri to take position in between them.

Victor himself had been hard for a while, and his cock laid flat against his stomach, curving off to the side just a little bit as precum leaked and smeared across his abs.

Yuuri settled back between his legs. He groaned softly as Victor touched him. He knew it wouldn't take long for him to get hard, especially at Victor's touch.

He lightly brushed a finger along the shaft laying on his stomach. "I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing..." He muttered.

Victor chuckled, continuing to stroke him, and work him up.  "Do you really need to?  Just do what feels good and I'll take care of the rest."  he purred softly, leaning up to kiss Yuuri as his thumb pressed more firmly against the top of Yuuri's shaft.

He moaned as Victor pressed his thumb against him. He nodded, reciprocating his movements as he stroked him. The precum made him slick.

Victor smiled against Yuuri's lips, letting soft pants pass between his lips as they masturbated each other.  Slowly, Victor angled Yuuri's cock, pressing it against his own.

"Here... hold them together, like this."  He instructed, pressing Yuuri's cock against his own, and taking both shafts in hand as he stroked them both in unison, letting his own hips rock up into Yuuri.

Yuuri gasped as a jolt of pleasure went through him as their cocks touched. He blushed furiously, but followed Victor's lead. With his hand over Victor's, they stoked each other. His hips rocked to the rhythm they had found.

Victor watched Yuuri's reaction as he panted along with him.  He propped himself up on one arm so that he could press his forehead against Yuuri's as they grinded against each other.

"Does it feel good?" He asked his voice low as he watched all the reactions of pleasure lust and love playing across Yuuri's face.   His hand pumped steadily, while he thrust up, letting his cock and his hand rub against Yuuri's shaft.  "Is this how you want to cum?"

He pressed his forehead against his, lips slightly parted as he panted. He whined a little as they moved, but at the question his shook his head.

"N-no.. I... I want you to...I mean..." His face was bright red. He decided to shut himself up and kissed the man before him.

It was so tempting to kiss him while he was talking... His lips were so close and he was so hot the way his words tumbled out between his pants and moans... and Victor was so relieved when he kissed him first.  He indulged for a few more seconds, pressing the heat of his kiss deeply into Yuuri's lips before pulling back.

He released his hold on their cocks as squirmed his way out from under Yuuri.  "Hold on."  He urged, finding his way off the bed.  Stark naked, he stumbled the few feet across the floor to his luggage, where he routed around awkwardly for a moment.

It felt like it took too long before he found what he'd come for.  Extracting a small bottle and a flat square package, Victor returned to -the bed, Lube and a condom in hand.  Quickly, he moved back to try and take his place back where he had been, giving Yuuri another hot, passionate kiss.

"Do you want me to do it?  Or... do you?"  He asked.

Yuuri sat back, watching him as he got up. God if he wasn't already aroused, watching Victor walk around naked would do it. He brought his hand to his cock, lightly stroking it has Victor rummaged through his suitcase.

He faltered as the man came back, moving to give him him room. He hummed as he kissed him back. At the question, his brain sluggishly processed. "Do...?" He looked at what Victor brought back and it clicked into place. "Oh, um... I... W-well since I'm... sk-skating tomorrow... maybe I should... uh..."

He cringed at how fucking nervous he was. He had never done this before but he wasn't completely oblivious. There was the internet. He had jacked off many times. Maybe even to the image of the man before him. So why couldn't he seem to get it together? He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, imagining... well he pictured himself being confident and able to give Victor what he wanted.

 

Opening his eyes, he kissed Victor quickly. "If you'll let me, me taking you might be best for now.:

Victor smiled against Yuuri's lips.  Alright, maybe he had been too aroused to phrase his question clearly, but it was adorable watching Yuuri stammer with his response.

"Well, obviously."  Victor stated.  The fact that he would be bottoming tonight was all but a foregone conclusion in his head. "I meant, do you want me to prepare myself for you - or do you want to... loosen me up first."  There was no polite way to ask someone to shove their fingers up your ass, was there...

Yuuri's eyes widened a little. Okay so apparently, Victor already knew exactly how this was going to go... if only Yuuri was that confident. "Uh..." Now Yuuri's mind wandered a little as both options were hot as hell. His cock twitched as he imagined both scenarios.

Swallowing, he reached for the bottle of lube. "I can... do it..." He smiled softly at Victor. The fact that he trusted him to do this... it definitely helped boost his confidence.

There it was again, that fluttering feeling in his chest as he handed the lube over, and set the condom aside for now, just within arm's reach; that trembling as he leaned back and parted his thighs for Yuuri.  His thighs quivered as he drew his knees up to better expose himself, and the tight ring of muscle just below his taint.

It was hard to say if the flush on his cheeks was from how aroused he was, or from embarrassment at how exposed he was in that position.  He could feel Yuuri's eyes on him as he spread laid himself out for the other man.  With one hand, he casually stroked his own cock, getting back some of the hardness he'd lost walking across the room to get the required materials, and partially just to give his lover a show.

"Please..." Victor purred breathlessly. His other arm was over his own head, halfway hiding himself, halfway just posed for the other to see.  His eyes were half lidded behind his silver eyelashes as he spoke seductively to Yuuri.   "Mess me up."

He licked his lips as he watched Victor get settled. His eyes briefly flicked to his hand as he resumed stroking himself. He smiled at the statement. He really doubted he could do that, but he'd do his best.

Opening the bottle of lube, he poured some into his hand, then coating his fingers. His hands were shaking slightly as he moved. He placed one hand on Victor's thigh, rubbing it gently while the other... he rubbed his finger at his entrance, glancing up to make sure things were okay.

Victor took sharp inhale of breath and closed his eyes when Yuuri's fingers touched his entrance.  He was just so sensitive from wanting it so badly.  But he exhaled slowly, willing himself to relax and let Yuuri's fingers penetrate him.  The muscle itself had seized tightly at that initial touch, clenching in on itself tightly before gradually relaxing.

It helped that he trusted Yuuri so much.  It helped that he loved him so much.  Even as Victor struggled to relax himself, to let Yuuri in and not clench up, those feelings of trust were already working deeper inside, gently relaxing Victor as he got accustomed to Yuuri's touch.  Even beneath the hand on his thigh, Yuuri would surely be able to feel the way his muscles kept tensing and relaxing, tensing and relaxing, a little bit by little bit more every time.  Seeking warmth, and more of Yuuri's touch, Victor's other leg slid up Yuuri's side, and he hooked the limb on Yuuri's shoulder.

"Ah.. Keep going" Victor urged.

Yuuri could feel his muscles moving under his touch. He smiled softly at the man, gently rubbing the ring of muscles as they constricted, wanting him to relax. He slid his hand up and down his leg as he moved it to his shoulder.

His finger pushed in ever so slightly. Yuuri turned his head, placing a soft kiss on Victor's ankle. "I'm going to take care of you... I promise."

Victor could have melted. He did melt.  At that simple assurance, he was finally able to relax and let Yuuri in, his muscles yielding to the penetrating digit.

Had that been the issue?  Was he still nervous somewhere in the back of his mind that Yuuri was going to leave again when he was done?  That fear should have been long gone by now, but there wasn't any denying how well those words had worked on him.

"Yuuri, I...  ...I want you inside of me." Victor panted.

He smiled and nodded, nuzzling his leg. "Soon. I promise." He twisted his finger. He took another and gently worked it with the other, stretching him. As impatient as Victor was being, Yuuri wasn't going to do anything that would potentially hurt him.

A strange note of anatomy; once Yuuri had pushed his fingers beyond Victor's sphincter the vault of Victor's bowl actually began to pull Yuri's fingers in, tugging them deeper as he probed.  The sudden shift from his own muscles working to push against Yuuri, to suddenly pulling him in made Victor hiss as he simply thought Yuuri had suddenly pushed too hard, and filled him up too much at once.

But even that hiss soon melted in the wave of panting and moaning that followed.  As Yuuri's fingers curved inside him, Victor squirmed under the sensation.  It didn't hurt exactly, but it was strange, and filling.

"How many fingers are you going to put inside?"  He demanded, already feeling like Yuuri was stretching him to his limit.  He was certain the other man must've been up to three, maybe four by now.  Somewhere in the waves of white sparks that clouded his vision every time Yuuri's fingers glanced over a certain, spot -he had lost count of how much exactly Yuuri had inside him.  But it felt like a lot.

Even though he still held his own cock, he had all but forgotten to keep stroking himself, only occasionally rubbing his digits against the base of his cock, just above his balls, to shift the uncomfortable pain of being stretched into a more palatable pleasure.

Yuuri blushed at the question. "Enough." He smiled a little, removing his fingers. He reached for the condom and lube. He was still shaking due to nerves. Taking in a few deep breathes as he opened the package and pulled out the latex, he glanced at Victor.

 

He honestly couldn't believe this was happening but at the same time it had been inevitable. Though the thought of him being on top was never actually considered in his fantasies... okay maybe once... or twice.

Once he was ready he positioned himself. He looked at Victor again, praying his face didn't betray the fear he felt. "I would ask if you're ready, but I'm pretty sure I know the answer." He smiled a little, teasing his entrance with the tip of his cock.

Victor had helped Yuuri slide the condom down the length of his shaft, rolling it over the thick Japanese cock.  He even helped Yuuri line himself up before he reached his arms up, snaking them around Yuuri's shoulders as he gazed up adoringly into Yuuri's amber eyes.

"I don't think I've ever been more ready for anything in my life."  He breathed, body coiled in anticipation.  His cock twitched between their stomachs as Yuuri teased at his entrance.

Yuuri leaned in, kissing him tenderly as his hips pushed forward. He moaned softly into the kiss, the warmth of Victor surrounding him. God, he felt amazing.

Victor loved the tender kiss.  Victor loved Yuuri so much he felt like his heart was going to burst.  And burst it did.

Just as Yuuri began to moan, Victor threw his head back, crying out in a soft strangled moan as he gritted his teeth.

It wasn't that it hurt - not exactly - which was odd in of itself.  Victor hadn't expected Yuuri to have the experience to know how to enter him without it hurting - But ever full of Surprises, Yuuri had managed it... It was just intense.  His whole world became hyper focused on Yuuri as white sparks flickered on the edges of his vison.   One of the most tender places in his anatomy stretched and accommodated the other man's entry, and if Victor thought Yuuri's fingers had been too much, he hadn't any idea how much Yuuri's cock would devastate him.

He groaned out loud, letting the moan roll off his lips as he took Yuuri inside him.  Quickly, he became adjusted to Yuuri's size, feeling him sink in deeper, until he could feel Yuuri's balls against his ass, and his own balls come flush with Yuuri's abdomen.

He panted softly as he pushed in to the hilt. The sounds Victor was making were music to his ears. He cursed softly. "Oh my god, you feel so good..." He gently massaged his thighs. He wasn't going to move until Victor was ready.

His heart was beating a mile a minute. The sight before him was more beautiful than he ever could imagine. This man... he loved him more than he could say.

Victor was awash in delightful agony, his nerves pushing forward and back between overstimulation and pleasure.  "Yuuri~" Victor Moaned, outright pleading to the man above him.  He knew it would feel better once Yuuri started moving.  He tried to rock his own hips, but with his legs wedged between them, calves settled on Yuuri's shoulders, it was hard to get much leverage at all.

He chuckled at the plea. He rolled his hips experimentally and moaned immediately. He pulled out and pushed back in, sucking in a breath. He moved slowly, finding a rhythm for them.

The angle was pushing Victor down into the bed, a detail he was both grateful and rueful for.  On the one hand, it was a difficult position for him, gave him no leverage, no control, bent his body and made him even tighter while he was trying to relax.  Both mentally and physically it was burdensome as he could all too well see where Yuuri was driving into him, their bodies melding and becoming one.  But that was the upside of this position too, why Victor had chosen it - So that he could see Yuuri while they made love.

"Yuuri, I...  I love you!  So Much."  Victor cried out, his hands gripping tightly at Yuuri's back while he struggled to hold on.

Every now and then, Yuuri's cock brushed against something wonderful inside of Victor, a soft, smooth spot, then when Yuuri hit it sent sparks coursing throughout Victor's body, and actively pumping a spurt of precum here and there from his otherwise now abandoned cock.

"Nng!  Yuuri!"  He shouted, throwing his head back and clenching his teeth when Yuuri struck that spot particularly well.  "Right there!  Just like that!"

Yuuri moaned his name as he rocked. He aimed to thrust in that spot that made Victor moan. He was loving how responsive he was. "I love you too... so much."

He panted hard, glancing at Victor's hand as he stroked his cock. Yuuri shook his head, reaching for him, he moved his hand. "L-let me..." He smiled at him, gripping his cock, pumping him in rhythm with his thrusts.

Victor had almost not wanted to relinquish his cock to Yuuri.  His brows were knotted together.  Hitting that spot over and over again was driving Victor mad - but he just couldn't think straight anymore.  His arms fell down from Yuuri, so that he could brace himself against the bed, balling the sheets up in his fists.

"Yuuri... I'm going to cum."  He warned, as Yuuri continued to push him further and further toward the edge.  "I'm going to Cum!"  He shouted in nearly a panic.  He had wanted to cum with Yuuri, but he just wasn't sure he'd be able to hold on, especially not if Yuuri touched him like that.

Tears were beginning to form at the corner of Victors eyes.  It just felt so good.  It just felt entirely too good.

Yuuri squeezed his eyes shut. His stomach felt like it was in a giant knot. His breathing was ragged. His eyes popped open at Victor's exclamation. "M-me t-too... nnn..."

He ground into Victor once he was flush against him, his cock kicking. He ended up giving Victor's a squeeze as he did so. "Ah~ Victor!"

That was all Victor needed to let go.  His mouth open in a low, guttural groan, his eyes locked with Yuuri, he came.

The constant pressure on his prostate rocketed his cum through his shaft, sputtering onto their stomachs and in Yuuri's hand in spurt after spurt, until finally it lost steam.  The last few shots that dripped from his cock were nearly watery and clear, in sharp contrast to the thick white first splash that had fallen on Victor's own stomach.

 

Coming down felt like floating down in a parachute after an explosion had gone off.  Gentle, and peaceful, light headed and airy after the adrenalin had all run it's coarse.  And for a second... there was a moment Victor regretted putting the condom on Yuuri.   The feeling of his cock now, was so warm and pleasant, he would've liked to feel Yuuri's cum directly inside and filling him.

Victor reached up, and caressed both Yuuri's cheek's in his hands.  He couldn't force himself to say anything just yet, but he just couldn't stop soaking in the sight of Yuuri above him.  The best he could manage was to brush some of Yuuri's dark bangs from the younger man's sweating brow.

He stared at the man in front of him through hazy eyes as he came down. He was breathing hard, almost like after his routines. The adrenaline was making him shaky but he held onto Victor's hips.

Yuuri leaned into his touch, eyelids fluttering as he brushed his bangs away. He was feeling a little emotional at the moment. All good, but he felt like his chest was about to explode with how much love he had for this man.

"Was it good?"  Victor hummed.  He didn't have the strength to lean up anymore, his body exhausted and sensitive from climax.

Yuuri chuckled, nodding his head. "It was amazing." He gently pulled out of him so he could move and help Victor put his legs back down. He figured he must be uncomfortable.

"Was... it good for you?"

Victor made a sharp hiss through his teeth when Yuuri pulled out of him.  As difficult as it had been getting it in there, to have that fullness suddenly withdraw was equally as uncomfortable.  His legs, he let flop down below him, sprawling out haphazardly however Yuuri put him down.  He was worn out.

Lazily, he kept a hand on Yuuri during the whole transition, unwilling to break the contact.  "It was the best."  He cooed.  "Maybe the best that there ever has been, throughout all time."

His eyes glanced down, scanning Yuuri for what had become of the condom... hoping that it was still on Yuuri rather than getting stuck halfway outside of himself - as sometimes happened when an ass was too tight and a dick had been allowed to soften before withdrawing.

Yuuri winced at the hiss he made. He felt bad. He smiled at the reply, blushing. He seriously doubted the truth behind that statement, but he appreciated it none the less.

He had made sure that he was holding onto the condom as he pulled out. Sitting back on his legs, he carefully took it off.

Victor groaned as he rolled over onto his side.  Alright, now that the endorphins were wearing off... he could definitely tell he was going to hurt.  But for now, it still felt so good.  He felt stretched out, and when his muscles twitched or spasmed of their own accord, his body could still remember the fullness of Yuri within him.

 

"Mmm.  ... Come here, You're so far away."  Victor motioned, beckoning Yuuri to come cuddle with him in post coital bliss.

He chuckled. "One sec." He got up, legs shaking a little as he went to throw the condom away. He came back to bed and crawled onto it, flopping beside Victor.

Victor quickly scooped Yuuri up into his arms, and nuzzled into his hair.  "Mmm... Maybe I should take you now~" Victor purred.

Yuuri cuddled close, wrapping his arms around him. He blushed at Victor's statement and buried his face in his shoulder. "As much as I would love it... Not sure I would be able to skate well tomorrow if you did."

Victor chuckled softly.  "Alright.  Then how about after? Before we head back to Japan..."

He chuckled, blushing even more. "It's a deal." He leaned in, kissing him softly.

Victor returned the kiss, chuckling along with Yuuri.  He wanted to stay up, and idly chat and dote on the other man, but he was already tired, and they had a competition tomorrow.  Victor set an alarm for them, and crawled under the covers with Yuuri.

Yuuri snuggled as close as he could, tangling up in him. He sighed contently. "Thank you... that was... I couldn't have imagined it any better." He kisses his jaw softly before yawning.

"I love you, Yuuri."  Victor sighed lovingly.  "nothing feels as right as when I'm with you. nothing feels as good as when I'm joined with you..."

Victors eyes were closing even as he spoke.

"I love you too, Victor." He closed his eyes. "I couldn't agree more..." He mumbled.

"Stay Close to Me..."

He smiled, nuzzled him. "Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave us comments and let us know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7: Rostelecom Cup Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!!

Chapter 7

Rostelecom Cup Part 2

Yuuri couldn't believe this was happening. How had things gone from amazing to absolutely horrid in such a short time. He was elated. He had gained a new personal best on his SP score. Victor has been so happy he had kissed his skate.  He had even managed to outscore Yurio which was incredible cause the young skater had finally found his agape.

And then... then during JJ's short program he got the call. It threw him back to Sochi the year before. Mari calling. A beloved dog was dying. He couldn't help but shake as he got the call. However, this time it was different. He had to be strong. He told Victor about Makkachin, told him he had to go back to Japan. Under no circumstances did Yuuri want to be alone in Russia, but he would do this. For Victor, he would do this. After they had argued about him leaving, Victor finally relented after his old coach, Yakov, agreed to be Yuuri's substitute coach for the free skate.

To be honest Yuuri had no idea as to why the man said yes. Yuuri didn't really want a replacement. What could Yakov do for him at this point? And Yurio sure as hell didn't like the idea. But whatever. Yuuri had decided he wouldn't bother the old man unless it was a dire emergency.

Speaking of emergencies, he and Victor were in the elevator heading back to their room so Victor could pack. Yuuri held his hand tightly. It was taking everything he had not to break down. Not just at how similar this all was when Vic-chan died, but the fact that his rock, his support, his.. Victor was leaving. He also couldn't imagine what he was feeling right now. Makkachin meant so much to Yuuri in such a short time, he couldn't fathom what Victor was going through. Neither had really spoken. Victor had been on the phone most of the way back getting his flight sorted out. Yuuri just held his hand and was there, being support in case he needed it.

Denial.  Denial was how Victor was handling it.  He couldn't even imagine a world without Makkachin in it.  His one and only constant companion for 15 years.  He'd spent more of his life with the friendly poodle by his side than without.  How was life even supposed to work without a dog greeting you when you got home?

And what was he supposed to do for Makkachin that the Katsuki family wasn't already?  The dog was in surgery right now.  Even if Victor left now he wouldn't make it in time before the operation was over.  Sure, he would need to pay the bill, and see if the vet even accepted Makkachin's pet insurance - but money wasn't the real worry, and surely the vet wouldn't cease treatment just because he was going to be a few days late to pay...

... but then again, none of those reasons were really the thing turning over in Victor's stomach.  He was grateful Yuuri was holding his hand, and gave it little squeezes every now and then.  Even after finishing making arrangements with the airline, Victor's nose remained buried in his phone, looking up Makkachin's pet insurance policy and what it covered, looking up veterinary information for what could possibly be wrong with Makkachin that steamed buns hurt him so badly... survivability rates...

No, it was definitely better that he was going. He would have just been like this the entire time until he saw Makkachin again, no doubt stressing out Yuuri in the process.

Yuuri would squeeze his hand back every time. He tried not to watch him but he would steal glances every now and then.

As the door opened, Yuuri led the way to the room. He kept a hold of Victor, guiding him since he doubted he was paying enough attention not to run into the was or something. As they got to their room, he opened the door, and led them inside.

Once the door was shut, Yuuri looked around feeling... helpless. "Is..." He cleared his throat. "Is there anything I can do? Pack or..." He wished he could magically make everything better. That's what he wanted more than anything.

Victor looked up from his phone, mainly due to the change in the surrounding light.  When had they actually gotten to the room?  He wasn't sure...

No sooner were they in the room than Victor started packing.  He was a fairly neat person, so there wasn't much packing to be done in the first place, with most of the mess having been made last night during the throws of passion.

"The hotel knows you're not checking out until Monday.  They said you could just leave your keys at the front desk and you should be fine.  Are you going to be okay getting a taxi to the airport?  I didn't see any shuttle information in the lobby, but I think I can still arrange something for you while I'm here if you need it."

Ah, that was right - Victor needed to separate his old flight information from Yuuri's flight schedule, so that the younger man would have it when it was time for him to come home.  Victor moved from his suitcase to his messenger back, sorting out all the info Yuuri would need.  His mind was a flurry of preparations and check lists.

Guess that was a no. He felt sick watching the man he loved go through the motions. His heart lurched through as he spoke, going through everything he had taken care of for Yuuri. Even now, he still thought about him.

"No, I think I can get a taxi to the airport. You have enough on your mind." He figured he would beg Yurio to help him with some phrases just in case. Though he wondered if the kid would teach him the right phrases...

Yuuri walked over to him, placing a hand on Victor's shoulder. Yes, time was limited, but he needed to make sure Victor was okay enough to go alone. If Yuuri needed to he... he would drop out and go with him. Some things were more important than gold medals.

"Victor." He gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Please let me help."

It was enough to shock Victor out of his semi-frantic preparation spree.  He let out a breath as his shoulders relaxed under Yuuri's touch, and reached up to rest his hands on Yuuri's sides.

"You are helping.  Believe me, you are."

He pulled him into a tight hug. He poured every ounce of strength he had into it. "Good. You're not alone in this."

"I know..."  He returned the hug, squeezing Yuuri a little tighter as he buried his face in Yuuri's thick hair. "I know..."  He repeated.

But he didn't let go.  Did he really know?  He was so used to being alone... and if something happened to Makkachin...

The sudden wave of anxiety was overwhelming, it was all he could do to hold onto Yuuri as it washed over him.

Yuuri nuzzled him, rubbing his back gently. He could practically feel the anxiety coming off the man. "Victor," He spoke softly. "I'll come with you if you need me to. Just say the word." He didn't want to give up the competition because they had both worked so hard to get here. But he wasn't going to let it interfere if he was needed elsewhere.

"No."  The answer was swift.  Victor pulled away, separating them at a half-arm's length as he still refused to give up his grip on Yuuri.  But he needed to look him in the eye to say this.

"No.  You're going to skate tomorrow.  And you're going to win."

After the harsh rebuke, Victor's face softened smiling at him.  "Really Yuuri.  If you want to do something for me, that's what I need you to do.  I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I took you away from competition, but I need to go.  So what I need from you is to be strong for me."

He wasn't all the surprised by his answer. He reciprocated the smile and gently took his left hand in his, kissing his knuckles. "I will. I will show all of Russia my love for you."

He could do this. He had to do this. For Victor.

The way Yuuri kissed his knuckles made Victor's heart melt.  The anxiety broiling around him was starting to fade away, like it was nothing.  Yuuri really was his sun.

"Good.  Good!"  He gave a little cheer.  "Ah. I'm sad I'm not going to get to see it in person.  But I'll be watching the broadcast.  You've already refined your program so well I don't have any worries.  Just remember what we've talked about in practice and you're going to be fine."

Yuuri nodded. Victor was right. Right now the biggest thing that was going to prevent him from making it into the finals was himself and his anxieties.

"Alright..." He leaned in and kissed Victor softly. "What do you have left?"

Giving the room another quick look around, Victor took quick inventory of everything.

"I think I just need to get my things out of the bathroom and call a taxi."

Yuuri nodded. He would have offered to get what was in the bathroom, but he figured he would want to double check he got everything.

He hated this. It was almost time for Victor to leave. He prayed he could find the strength not to break down when he did.

Victor gave Yuuri a quick kiss, before parting from the other man, and heading into the bathroom to gather up his soap, his shampoo, toothbrush, and piled them quickly into his toiletry bag.

 

He was back out in a flash, packing his suitcase and zipping it up.  Finally, ready to go.  He got out his cell phone to call the taxi and - for just a second he looked up at Yuuri...

Victor moved back to Yuuri's side.  His hand Brushed against the side of Yuuri's cheek as he leaned down for a long, deep kiss.

Yuuri's chest got tighter the closer Victor got to being ready to go. The second he saw him take his phone out for a cab, his heart plummeted to his stomach.

He froze as Victor looked at him. What... He gasped as he leaned in to kiss him. He wrapped his arms tightly around him as he kissed him back.

One kiss led to another, passion bade more passion.

"Promise me you'll come back to me safe."  Victor whispered against Yuuri's lips.

Yuuri nodded. "I will. Just make sure you get there safe so I can come home to you."

That earned another passionate kiss from Victor, as his tongue lapped against Yuuri's lips.

He practically melted into him. "Mmm..." It killed him to do what he did next. He pushed him back ever so slightly. "When is your flight?"

"Two hours" he answered.   "last flight of the night."  It was enough time to get to the airport, get checked in and through security.  But he would need to leave now.

Yuuri sighed. "Then... you should probably get going..." He buried his face in his chest, he couldn't let him see him cry.

"Walk me to the door?"  Victor asked, not wanting to be apart from Yuuri one second longer than he had to.

Yuuri nodded and stepped back, grabbing his suitcase for him. He had fully intended to stay with him until he got into the taxi.

Victor dialed for the taxi, and after a brief conversation in Russian he hung up the phone to smile at Yuuri.  "They're sending someone over."  He said, following Yuuri over to pick up his messenger bag.

He nodded again, gently taking his arm and tugging him close. He kissed him once more, pouring all of his love into it. He knew once they were out of the room they would have to tone down the PDA.

A kiss wasn't enough, to express how much he loved the other man, or how much he knew he was going to miss him, consoled only by the fact that it was going to be a very short time apart.  Victor tried to deepen the kiss again, pressing his tongue into Yuuri's mouth.

A low moan escaped him as he pressed closer to him. He let his tongue slide against his. He sucked gently on it.

Victor slid his tongue against Yuuri's, gently lapping at him, and then moved to explore every inch of the other man's mouth, memorizing it so he wouldn't forget.

 

He let the kiss draw to its natural conclusion, pulling away slowly when it was time to take a breath, his ice blue eyes glittering down at his lover from behind silver lashes.

"We should go..."  He murmured.

Yuuri placed a hand on the back of his neck. He pulled him back close, resting his forehead on his. He whined softly at the statement. "I know..." He looked at him for a few moments, soaking in everything about him. After a little while, he sighed and released him, pulling back.

How was he supposed to pull away?  How was he supposed to leave when Yuuri was looking at him like that?  Despite his statement, Victor didn't make a single move to leave, only running a hand through Yuuri's hair -  it was still crispy from being slicked back for his performance.

Yuuri made a face. "That can't be pleasant...  I need a shower." He smiled a little and took his hand, kissing his knuckles again. "Come on. Makkachin is waiting for you." He gave him a gentle squeeze and grabbed his suitcase again before opening the door.

Victor chuckled lightly.  "It's beautiful."  He answered, and nodded in agreement, following Yuuri out the door.

After Victor was gone... Yuuri Received several text messages.

From Victor: [Made it through security.  Flight is still on time.]

From Victor: [I already miss you.]

Yuuri had immediately gone into the shower once he got back into the room. He turned it on as hot as he could stand, letting his emotions spill out.

He dried off but flopped on the bed and grabbed his phone. He smiled at the texts. Rubbing his eyes, he replied back.

From Yuuri: [That's good. I miss you too. ♥]

From Victor: [Omg!  Yuri! My coat still smells like you!]

From Victor: [It’s like you're still here with me.]

Yuuri face palmed. He couldn't help but laugh.

From Yuuri: [Lol well I'm glad. Just don't try and kiss it. Then people will think you're really weird.]

From Victor: [I think they already think that.]

From Victor: [I can't stop sniffing it!]

From Victor: [I wonder if they can smell it too.]

From Victor: [I probably shouldn't ask, should I?]

From Yuuri: [No!"]

From Victor: ["I'm going to ask."]

From Yuuri: [" I beg you not to..."]

From Victor: ["Too late."]

Victor sent a photo attachment this time.  It was just of himself, wearing his coat and pointing out the lapels in the airport terminal.

From Victor: ["Okay.  I'm getting on the plane."]

From Victor: ["I'll text when we touch down."]

From Victor: ["I love you."]

From Yuuri: ["Please do. I love you too."]

Roughly 10 hours later, Yuuri received another text.

From Victor: ["Made it safely."]

From Victor: ["Hope you slept well."]

From Victor: ["Are you listening to Yakov?"]

From Victor: ["Is he taking care of you?"]

Yuuri groaned. He had slept like crap. He looked at his phone and sighed in relief.

From Yuuri: ["Good, not really, haven't seen him yet. Have you seen Makkachin yet?"]

From Victor: ["Going to pick him up now."]

From Victor: ["Will tell you what vet says."]

From Victor: ["I'm worried.  Your sister is being nice to me.  Is this bad news?"]

From Yuuri: ["I... I have no idea. :/ Keep me posted. Getting ready to head to practice."]

From Victor: ["Good luck!"]

Yuuri got to the rink and got his skates on. He glanced up as Yakov and Yurio got there. He briefly nodded to them both. There was no reason to bother the poor man. He already had a skater to look after. He checked his phone for any news before getting on the ice.

No more news would come until about 2 hours later.

From Victor: ["Maccachin is going to be okay!"]

From Victor: ["I didn't really understand what the Vet was saying - but I can take him home tomorrow.  I got to see him in the vet's office and he was so tired!"]

Attached was a picture of Makkachin recovering in the vet's office.  The dog was clearly still suffering under the effects of anesthesia and was curled up in a large kennel.  One of Victor's hands was also in the shot.  The dog had a bandage around one leg where the IV had been in during surgery.

Yuuri felt his phone vibrate and sighed with relief. Oh thank god.

From Yuuri: ["Poor Makka... give him a big hug from me. I'm so glad he's going to be okay."]

He looked over and saw Yuri and Yakov. Yuri was getting another lecture. He went over and told them both that Makkachin would be okay. Yakov just grunted while Yurio sneered but nodded. Yuuri could tell they were both relieved.

He went back to where is stuff was and sat.

From Yuui: ["I had to do interviews a little while ago. I hate doing them without you."]

From Victor: ["What sort of questions did they ask you?"]

From Yuuri: ["Mostly how I thought I would do without you here. Pretty sure they think I'm going to choke without."]

He wasn't going to tell him he hadn't really spoken to Yakov or that yes, even he was afraid he was going to choke.

From Victor: ["You're not going to choke."]

From Victor: ["You and I both know you're going to amaze them."]

From Victor: ["Show them our love."]

Yuuri smiled at the texts.

From Yuuri: ["I will."]

It was time for warm-ups to begin.

From Yuuri: ["Gotta go. I'll text you when I'm through."]

From Yuuri: ["Don't take your eyes off me."]

From Victor: ["I won't!"]

From Victor: ["Good luck!"]

Yuuri didn't get to check his phone again until he was out of the arena and heading to the hotel to change. He had felt like a zombie after the whole thing. He had made it to the Grand Prix, but barely. He knew his performance left something to be desired and he would do whatever it took to make Victor proud.

He tossed his stuff in the room and headed back out for a while, taking his phone out to look at it.

There was a message waiting for Yuuri whenever he did get around to checking his phone.

From Victor: ["You were beautiful."]

He smiled a little.

 

From Yuuri: ["I miss you so much. Going to go for a walk."]

From Victor: ["I miss you more."]

From Victor: ["Even Makkachin misses you!"]

A photo was attached of Makkachin curled up in Yuuri's bed.

Yuuri laughed.

From Yuuri: ["I miss him too!"]

He sighed, leaning against the railing he ended up at. Yurio showing up was a surprise. The katsudon pirozhkis even more so. They talked for a little bit. He had managed to cheer Yuuri up. Yuuri asked him if he could teach him some phrases on how to get to the airport tomorrow. Yurio actually offered to let him go with him, Yakov, and Mila. He muttered something about cabbies ripping tourists off.

The text messages started to slow down until the next morning.

From Victor: ["Good Morning Yuuri!  We miss you!"]

From Victor: ["Yuuri, you're not sleeping in are you?"]

From Victor: ["Stay safe on your way to the airport."]

From Victor: ["Were you able to get a ride?"]

From Victor: ["Let me know when you're getting on the plane."]

Yuuri replied quickly just before he checked out.

From Yuuri: ["Morning! Leaving now. Going with Yurio and Yakov. Text you when I get settled."]

Waiting was agony.  Victor kept checking his phone.  It was a relief the most of what Makkachin needed was rest, and the Katsuki family was more than willing to let him lounge around with the dog, petting and pampering him while he continued to check his phone.

When it was finally time, Victor left with Makkachin to pick Yuuri up from the airport.  It was barely even discussed with the family, there was just a quiet understanding from how restless the Russian house guest was that he would be the one to go.  The only level of surprise was from Hiroko as Victor was putting on his shoes to leave.

"Too Early!"  She had said in her broken English.  "Vic-chan sit. Long time."

Victor put his shoes down, to clasp the woman on her shoulders.  He did his best with what little Japanese he'd managed to pick up.  "I am going to airport. Desire to look at Yuuri now."

Hiroko's eyes widened when she heard the word 'airport'.  And then, as realization hit her.  He wasn't going to the train station, he was going to the airport.  She smiled, touching one of the hands at her shoulders gently.  She should have known he was going to go all that way for her son.   "Travel safe.  Get home safe. Take care of Yuuri."

 

Victor responded with a hug to the older woman, and a soft.  "Hai, Okasan."

With that, Victor put his shoes on, got Makkachin on his leash, and the two set off for the Fukuoka airport.

Yuuri was exhausted by the time he got off the plain. His thoughts had been nonstop since after the free skate the day before. He kept going back and forth on what he would say to Victor. He didn't want to keep the man from his career. But also... he couldn't bare for him to leave.

He wandered to the baggage claim lost in his thoughts. The only thing to pull him out of them was the sound of a dog barking.

They had their touching reunion.  Even though he knew PDA was frowned on in Japan, Victor just couldn't help himself.  He contained it to nothing excessive... but when Yuuri asked him to stay with him until he retired... He couldn't help but kiss Yuuri's knuckles, the same gesture Yuuri had given him at their departure a few days ago.

"It sounds like a marriage proposal."  Victor said, because it did.  "In that case, I hope you never retire."  He said, accepting and embracing his lover.

Less than three days apart, and he never wanted to be separated from Yuuri like that again.

Yuuri hugged him tight, trying his best not to cry. He buried his face in Victor's shoulder, holding him close. "Let's win gold at the Grand Prix Final together."

He had been determined to let the man go, to let him continue his career and not be burdened by him anymore. But the moment he saw him... the moment he was in his arms he couldn't do it. He wanted to keep him with him for as long as he could, even if it was just until the GPF.

After holding onto him for a few moments, Yuuri noticed the weight on his leg. He looked down and smiled. "Makkachin." He reluctantly let go of Victor and bent down, hugging the poodle. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"MM!"  Victor nodded in agreement, holding Yuuri close until he broke away to greet Makkachin.  The Dog gave a soft woof, and happily put his front legs up on Yuuri, so he could lick his Japanese Master's face.

Victor smiled as he watched them.  He then leaned in to pet the dog, stroking his head.  "He needs rest, but he was so eager to see you, I had to bring him with me."

Yuuri looked up at him and smiled. "I'm just glad he's okay." He nuzzled Makkachin once more and stood. "Shall we get home?"

"Okay."  Victor smiled.  "Let’s go home."

He offered his hand out to Yuuri to help him up.  But it was actually a stealth mission:  To take Yuuri's hand and interlock their fingers and not let go as he started to lead them out of the airport, hand in hand.

They were almost to the adjoining rail station - when Victor gave pause, and asked Yuuri a serious question.

 

"... do you know of any hotels around that are pet friendly?"

Yuuri smirked a little at the gesture. Victor was anything but stealthy. He held his hand tightly as they headed out.

He looked over startled by the pause. The question threw him for a loop. "Uh... I'm not... sure?" He looked at the man confused. Why would he need a... Panic. "Wh-why would you need one?" He wasn't leaving the inn, was he? What had happened in the short time he was there by himself?  If Mari had threatened him again he would kill her.

Victor handed Makkachin's leash to Yuuri, and pulled out his cell phone with his free hand, the other refusing to let Yuuri go for a second.

"We can't do anything at your parent’s inn, right? And it will be too obvious if we drop Makkachin off and then leave, right? So, we should find one here". He was already referencing Google for nearby hotels.

Yuuri faltered, gripping Makkachin's leash. "Wait... that's why?!" He laughed in relief. "V-Victor... we can do things there. We just have to be a little more discreet. The walls aren't exactly thick."

Puzzlement was the look on Victor's face when Yuuri started laughing. And then a grin as leaned forward. "You mean it? We can even do that? Because you know, that's what I want to do, right? I haven't seen you in so long and I just know I won't be satisfied unless we do that"

Yuuri's laugh died down as Victor leaned in. Holy crap he didn't realize how much you could miss someone after just a couple of days. He slid Makkachin's leash onto his wrist, never losing eye contact with Victor. He gripped his shoulders and kissed him hard, forget that they were in public. 

He pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes, his own full of love, desire, and lust. "Take me home. Now."

Fortunately, Victor's foreigner status meant that they only got the same curious gawking that Victor would have gotten anyway just for existing in Japan.  If anything, it earned a few chuckles from some of the older people walking by.  Ah, a young passionate foreign couple kissing at the airport.  How cute.   The worst reaction was a mother, a little way off, who scolded her children, urging them not to stare and be rude.  A far cry off from the cold shoulders of Russia.

"Wow.."  Was Victor's excited reply, as he looked down in awe of the passion he saw in Yuuri's eyes.  He kissed him again, and quickly started leading him down to the trains.

There was only so fast they could walk, only so fast they could go before they had to inevitably wait for the train to arrive.  Even once they were on the train, the rail wasn't going to go any faster, no matter how much Victor wanted to press himself into Yuuri, how he leaned against him the entire way.

He couldn't wait to get back to the inn. He bounced impatiently as they waited for the train to arrive. He sighed softly, knowing it wouldn't make the train come any faster.

 

As they made their way on, Yuuri stayed as close as possible to Victor. He smiled as the other man pressed close to him. Yuuri let go of his hand and wrapped an arm around his waist, leaning his head against his shoulder. "I hugged everyone after the competition... everyone... well, not Yurio because he kept running away." He sighed softly, nuzzling against Victor's shoulder. "None of them helped to fill what was missing... none of them were you."

Hearing that Yuuri had tormented Yuri in Victor's place, no matter the reason, brought a playful smile to Victor's face.  He wrapped his arm around Yuuri's shoulder.

They managed to find a seat on the train back to Hasetsu, it wasn't all that crowded, and there was room enough for Makkachin to jump up on the benches, and rest his head on Victor's lap.  His free hand idly stroked the poodle's ear and down his back.

"I wish I'd been there to see it.  But then, it probably wouldn't have happened if I had been, hm?  Glad to know I'm not so easily replaceable."

He cuddled close to Victor as they sat. He was only slightly jealous of Makkachin's head in Victor's lap, but it quickly diminished when he remembered what the poodle had been through.

He shook his head fiercely. "No. No one could ever replace you."

Victor's nose was buried in Yuuri's hair, his lips on Yuuri's forehead.  It was the most naturally resting position for how close he wanted to hold Yuuri, even as they sat on the train ride home.  Yuuri's luggage was in front of them, acting as a buffer between them and the rest of the passengers.  

"I want you so badly... Yuuri."

He hummed softly, eyes closed as he rested against him. "I want you too..." He nuzzled his nose against Victor's. "Not much longer."

"You're not going to be able to skate tomorrow."  Victor warned him.

Yuuri chuckled. "I see... what should I tell my coach then?" He grinned. "I have a pretty big competition coming up and he has high expectations for me and skipping a practice..."

Victor grinned down at him.  "Oh, I think he'll understand.  We have another two weeks before we need to leave for Barcelona.  Your short program is nearly perfect, we just need to make a few more adjustments to your free skate."  Victor's voice was low, and seductive, even as he spoke about skating.

"Not if I want to add a quad flip to my programs..." He kissed him quickly. "One day shouldn't put me too far behind though, right?"

"No.  I'd probably insist you rest anyway."  Victor said, rubbing Yuuri's arm slightly as he sat up a little straighter, his voice going back to its usually light and bouncing tone.  "You need to take care of your body anyway.  It's not good to stress out after traveling.  But no trips to Tokyo in the middle of this.  We're going to be practicing solid for the time we have before the Finals."

Yuuri nodded, smiling softly as he noted the change in him. "That's true..." And now he was thinking about the flip. Could he really pull it off in time?

"You know.  Having to be separated may have actually been a good thing.  It gave me an idea.  While I was having to watch you on video, I was able to take a good look at your performances and I noticed a few things that were off that I think I can correct.  We should try recording your programs while we practice so I can go through them frame by frame and check all of your positions.  It's so obvious I'm not sure why I didn't think of it before."

He reached into his pocket, and pulled out his cell phone, going through it and pulling up the recording that had aired live of Yuuri skating the day and a half before.

"See here?"  He said, stopping on a specific frame, from there it pretty much devolved into a series of super technical talk.  Angles, momentum, balance and weight.

Yuuri indulged him and listened, looking at the phone. He couldn't help but cringe slightly. Wow, yeah he had been so off. It always made him chuckle when Victor tried to play coach.

It was pretty much like that the rest of the ride home.  Victor babbling skating at Yuuri, going over the tiniest details.  Before he knew it, they were arriving at the Hasetsu station.  Victor helped up Makkachin get back down, and helped Yuuri gather up his luggage so they could all head off the train.

Yuuri pulled his suitcase behind him as the left the station. He took a deep breath and could smell the ocean. "It's good to be home..." He muttered.

Victor's eyes were on Yuuri as they started the walk home.  "Mm.  Welcome home."

He looked at him and smiled, kissing his cheek. "Was everything okay with you and my family? I didn't think that it might be a little awkward for you to be there without me."

"Of course.  Your family was super nice to me.  Your dad was busy most of the time, and when he wasn't I didn't really understand him but I think he was making jokes to cheer me up.  Your mom was wonderful as always.  And even Mari was nice to me!"

Yuuri smiled. He was glad his family was nice to Victor. They seemed to really love him. "I'm glad to hear that." He gently nudged him, and looked forward. He could see the inn.

As Victor spotted it, a smile erupted across Victor's face.  He may have hurried up just a little, walking just a little bit faster.

Yuuri chuckled as Victor sped up. "Eager huh?" He smiled as he followed after him, opening the door. "Tadaima!"

Once they were past the gates, Victor unhooked Makkachin's leash, letting the dog herald their arrival for them.

As usual, it was Hiroko who greeted them.  "Okaeri, Yuuri! Victor!"  She said, giving the dog a soft pat on his head as the two men came in.

Victor quickly went to work, taking off his shoes, hanging his jacket on the coat rack.  He would help Yuuri out of his Jacket as well, and begin taking Yuuri's luggage up if his partner showed any signs of wanting to stay down and chat with his mother.

Yuuri rolled his eyes a little at Victor's... efficiency. He smiled at his mother and spoke in Japanese. "If it's okay, we're going to head on up to bed. I'm pretty wiped from traveling." He gave her a hug.

Victor was already heading up the stairs with Yuuri's luggage.

Hiroko just chuckled and laughed at her boys' antics.  "Of course, Yuuri.  Do you want me to call you down for dinner?"

"Umm..." He glanced at the stairs after Victor.  "W-we might be... asleep or... c-can you put some up for us and we come get it later?"

He blushed brightly. He wasn't going to lie to his mom, but he seriously doubted if Victor got his way, he'd be able to walk down for dinner.

"Of course, I'm sure if nothing else, Vic-chan will be hungry.  He's been so worried about you since he got back."  She chuckled, none the wiser about what was going on between them.  "But Yuuri, you're not sick, are you?  I know you were traveling but it's still so early.  You look flushed."  She put her hand to her son's forehead, testing to see if he indeed was running a fever.

Upstairs, Victor had managed to get Yuuri's luggage into Yuuri's room.  He turned and started to trot back the way he came.  Time to get Yuuri.

"I-I'm fine mom!" He chuckled, gently taking her hand away. "Really, I'm just tired. I'm probably flushed cause of the... climate change. It was really cold in Russia compared to here."

He was going to kill his boyfriend for leaving him like this.

Victor was coming right back down the stairs, Makkachin in tow behind him.

"Well, it is a little warm for this time of year."  She chuckled.  "Probably making up for all that snow we got back in April."

By then Victor was downstairs again.  He reached for Yuuri's hand as he spoke to Hiroko.  "Gomenesai Okasan. Yuuri tokimasu - ima- Kudasai~" <"I'm sorry Mom.  I'm taking Yuuri now.  pleasantry">

The Japanese was broken, and bad...  Just enough that Hiroko got the message.  She laughed.  "Dinner will be in the oven."  She said.

Yuuri blushed profusely but he had succeeded in his being able to escape. He bowed a little and took Victor's hand tugging him upstairs.

"We really need to work on your Japanese..."

"What?  Your mom says My Japanese is very good."  Victor cooed, back in more comfortable English.  It was hard to say if Yuuri was tugging Victor upstairs, or if Victor was dragging Yuuri upstairs.  Either way, they were headed in a hurry in one direction - practically blowing past Mari as she walked down the hallway holding a basket of dirtied linens.

"Oh.  Hey Yuuri...  Welcome home."  Was all she managed to get out as Victor practically dragged Yuuri by.

"Hey... Sorry!" He gently smacked Victor. "What part of discrete did you not understand? And of course, she would, she's nice. You are as good at Japanese as I am at Russian."

"What.  We are being discreet."  He said, genuinely not sure what Yuuri was on about.  And then a smirk.  "And I'm willing to bet my Japanese is at least twice as good as your Russian."

"Uh huh... I'm pretty sure my sister is going to come by and put a sock on the door, you were being that discrete."

He walked into his room and flopped on the bed.

"Have you changed your mind?  Do you not want this?"  He asked, following in behind, closing the door behind him with Makkachin outside.

Yuuri turned his head and looked at him, holding up two fingers. "Two seconds. Stress and traveling are a tad exhausting."

He closed his eyes, humming softly. He patted the bed beside him. "Come here."

Victor followed the invitation, and hoped up on the bed with Yuuri, a soft smile on his face as he watched him laying down.  He gently caressed Yuuri's cheek, while staying quiet, giving him the two seconds he had requested.

Yuuri smiled, leaning into his touch. He sighed contently. "Mmm..." He leaned in and kissed him softly.

Victor returned the kiss, kissing him softly in kind.  He brushed Yuuri's bangs off his forehead, just gently caressing him and letting his lover relax.

He hummed, wrapping his arms around him, pulling him close. "Mmm... I'm good now." He smiled against his lips. "I'm all yours."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Please leave us comments to know what you think.


	8. Chapter 8: Reunion and Family Time

Chapter 8

Reunion and Family Time

Those words brought a smile to Victor's lips, which he kept pressed close against Yuuri's now that Victor had him, he seemed perfectly content to go slow. "Mmm...  Good."  Her purred in a low, seductive voice.

His movements were steady, and deliberate as he shifted himself over Yuuri, planting steadying his hands on either side of Yuuri's head just above his shoulders, before bringing his left hand up to gently caress Yuuri's cheek, and his neck, and down.  Their lips intertwined the entire time, with Victor's tongue baying entrance into Yuuri's mouth.  One knee wedged between Yuuri's legs, pushing them apart as he made room to slip the other in as well, positioning himself solidly above Yuuri.

Yuuri moaned softly into the kiss, parting his lips for him. He leaned into his touch, craving him. He spread his legs for him, cradling him.

"Yuuri" Victor hummed. "I missed you so much."

He ground his pelvis into Yuuri's, beginning the process of providing them both with friction.

Yuuri moaned as he moved back against him. "I missed you too, Victor... so very much." He wrapped his arms around his neck, holding him close.

"Let's Never be apart for that long again."  He breathed, before begging to lick a trail up too Yuuri's ear, where he began to nibble at the lobe.

His hand reached under Yuuri's shirt, feeling his warmth and the smooth feel of his lover's skin

He opened his mouth to agree, but a low moan escaped him as he nipped at his ear. His body arched into Victor's touch.

His fingers snaked into his silver hair as he pressed closer. "God, I love you so much."

"I love you too. I love you so much... More than anything."  He was pushing up Yuuri's shirt as he spoke, drinking in all he could of the other man.   His hips ground against him again, the begging of his hardness pressed into Yuuri's groin

Yuuri groaned as Victor ground against him, his own cock was hard and he rolled his hips seeking the friction. He reluctantly detangled his hands from his hair and raised his arms to help him get his shirt off.

With smooth, fluid motion, Victor relieved Yuuri of his shirt, tugging it over the other man's head, and casting it casually aside.  He rewarded Yuuri's participation with a firm squeeze to his nipples, while Victor began work on Yuuri's neck.  Trailing down a series of kisses as his lips crossed the jugular.

The mark Yuuri had left on Victor's collar bone was still fading, and while Victor had been careful before not to leave any marks on Yuuri, due to how sheer the Skater's costumes could be - now there was no such hesitation or worry.  Victor nipped and suckled until he found the most sensitive part of Yuuri's neck, and then suckled hard, pulling the soft inch of flesh between his lips and biting softly.

Yuuri hummed softly, tilting his head to allow Victor more access. His breath hitched as he started to suck on him. While they were home, he was ecstatic that he could be marked by him.

 

He lightly clawed at Victor's shoulders as he wrapped his arms back around him. He wanted to be as close as possible.

The scratching at his back earned a pleased hum from Victor that was so low, it sounded almost like a growl.  He shifted his attention to the other side of Yuuri's neck, using his lips to find an equally pleasing patch of skin along Yuuri's collarbone for a second mark.

His fingers teased at Yuuri's nipples.  His skilled fingers rolled over them, encircling and tweaking them, playing them to tease out the best way to make the man beneath him moan out in pleasure.

Yuuri moaned, arching slightly at the touch. He squirmed, rolling his hips as he felt himself getting harder. He cursed softly. "Victor..."

Victor responded, by shifting completely. He scooped his arm under Yuuri's back, and pulled the man up.  He sat back down himself, his back against the wall as he positioned Yuuri in his lap, the younger man's legs on either side while Victor brought his hips down hard against his own.

The advantage of this new position became obvious, as Victor only had to lower his head slightly to capture one of Yuuri's nipples in his mouth, while his hands were now free to roam over the form of Yuuri's hips, of his back and anywhere he pleased.

Yuuri was surprised by the new position.  He quickly became super okay with it the second he felt Victor's lips on his nipple.

"Oh~" He arched into him, gripping his arms.

One arm wrapped around Yuuri's waist, holding him close as Victor took his time suckling on Yuuri's nipple, rolling the sensitive bud of flesh between his teeth. His other hand continued to tweak and tease the free nipple in the open air. He was Massaging Yuuri's chest as though it were a woman's breast. Lifting and rolling out the muscle underneath. When at last Victor seemed satisfied from the first nipple, he switched, giving Yuuri's pec a soft nip and a bite as he transitioned from one side to the other.

His hips rocked up into Yuuri, the hardness still hidden in his pants pressed up into Yuuri's seat

Yuuri panted softly as Victor worked him over. His finger had become tangled in the man's hair. He groaned as he felt Victor's erection pressing against him through the pants. He ground hard into him out of desperation and wanting to work him up as much as he was doing to him.

Oh, but Victor wasn't done just yet.  He was enjoying taking his time, drinking up everything Yuuri had to offer.  Savoring the sounds Yuuri was making, delighting in the way Yuuri's body trembled when he rolled that nipple between his teeth.

He shifted his body again, spurred on by Yuuri's fingers tangled in his hair.  Victor scooted further, until he was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning into Yuuri as his mouth tortured and teased one nipple, his hand alternating between massaging and tormenting the other.  He leaned forward still, intentionally trying to knock Yuuri off balance, so that the other man was completely dependent on Victor to hold him up, from the arm wrapped tightly around his waist, and the hips that were thrusting up into him, dry humping him through their clothes.  He was positioning Yuuri so that all of his weight ended up falling focused on Victor's hips.

Yuuri squeaked, his arms wrapping tightly around his shoulders. He was a mix of confused and aroused as he felt himself falling backwards. He could tell he wouldn't fall because of his arm, but it was a weird unbalanced feeling.

A devious grin crossed Victor's lips.  The squeak had been almost exactly the reaction he'd wanted.  Unfortunately, leaning forward like that meant he couldn't get the access to Yuuri's nipple's he'd had, and instead had to make do biting at Yuuri's neck again.

He rocked his hips up a few more times, letting Yuuri get the feeling of being off kilter in his arms, letting Yuuri cling to him for balance while his mouth continued to lavish seductive affections on Yuuri's skin, and then finally He'd had enough.

With a twist of his hips, and another swift motion, Victor turned, practically throwing Yuuri back down on the bed.  No sooner was Yuuri down than Victor was over him, looming with a predatory glint in his eyes.

Yuuri gave a little yelp as Victor threw him back on the bed. This was definitely not how he had expected things to go.

He looked up at Victor, eyes wide. The look in his eyes were both terrifying and erotic as hell. "V-Victor..?"

"Chto eto, moye solntse?" <What is it, my sunshine?>  Victor purred in Russian down to him, nuzzling against his jaw.

Yuuri groaned softly. It wasn't fair for him to use that language while Yuuri was this aroused. He tilted his head a little and leaned up, kissing just below his ear before whisper. "I want you..."

Victor rewarded the plea with a kiss to Yuuri's lips.  From behind silver lashed he looked down at Yuuri, practically purring the words.  "You do?  You want me how?"  Another soft kiss.  "How will I know if you don't tell me."

He kissed him back, arms tightly around him. His eyes flashed at what he said. So that's what he was playing at. Yuuri blushed brightly. He knew exactly what he wanted him to do, but actually saying it felt... weird.

"I..." He groaned in frustration, turning his head to the side. He grinned a little and looked back at him. "Watashi wa anata to issho ni sukēto shitaidesu.”

After all, Victor said his Japanese was good, right?

Victor furrowed his brow, he moved his lips, silently repeating the words as he tried to understand them.  He pulled back off of Yuuri, far enough back that he could take his own shirt off and cast it aside.

His hands ran along Yuuri's chest, down across his abdomen, over his lithe stomach, dipping in at his belly button as Victor cooed.

 

"No good Yuuri, you can't just say the same thing over again."  He bent down from between Yuuri's knees, and kissed the other man's stomach.  "You want us to be together... how?"  Another kiss, letting his tongue dip into Yuuri's belly button while his neck grazed intentionally over the fly of Yuuri's pants.

He moaned softly, arching slightly. "Nnn... That's... that's not what I said." He looked down at him, eyes dark, an amused grin on his face. "Not at all. I specifically told you what I wanted. Though I supposed that is long term and not just right now..."

Crap!  His bluff had been called!  Victor had understood a... good chunk of it.  'I', 'you', 'together'.... something or other... 'want'.  He should have known Yuuri would slip something complicated in there.  It didn't sound like any of the words he knew for sex, but Victor had just assumed it was something related.

"Alright.  You got me.  What was it you said?"  Victor admitted.

Yuuri chuckled and sat up a little, pulling him into a kiss. He rested his forehead against his and whispered. "I said I wanted to skate with you."

He grinned and pulled back slightly. "I told you your Japanese sucked." He laughed.

The wind seemed to fall out of Victor's sail, but Victor chuckled along with him.  "That was skating?  Skating was what you said."

He smiled and nodded. "Though like I also said... it's more long term. Right now though..." He leaned in to his ear, placing a soft kiss on the shell of his ear. He mustered every ounce of courage he could and whispered, "I want you to fuck me into this mattress."

That was what Victor needed to hear.  Hearing that his lover had just wanted to skate with him, the fair skinned man had been about to withdraw and retreat, his confidence wavering.  But now... His courage and pride swelled in his chest.

He caught Yuuri's lips in his own, and pressed the other man back down against the bed, eager to comply with his lover's wishes right away!  Done with his teasing, Victor's hands began to tug at Yuuri's pants as they kissed, his fingers undoing the button and lowering the zipper with expert practice.

Victor only pulled away when it was time at last to start tugging Yuuri's pants down over his hips and to lean back and get them off his legs.

Yuuri kissed him back with need. He shifted his hips, helping him get his pants off. His fingers found the band of Victor's pants, tugging on them. He needed to feel all of him.

Once Victor had gotten Yuuri's pants off, he made quick work of his own.  Pushing them down his hips and kicking them off the rest of the way.  His cock sprang forward, hard and swollen with need.

Victors hand's fell back onto Yuuri, caressing down the lower quarter of his abdomen, barely able to distract themselves before they found their way to Yuuri's cock.  One hand stroked the shaft lovingly, while the other began to gently caress Yuuri's balls.  Victor himself leaned forward, pressing another kiss to Yuuri's lips before asking.

"Do you have any lube in here, moye solntse?"

As Victor's hands found his way to Yuuri's cock, his own hands reached to gently stroke his erection. He moaned, letting his head fall back a little, but quickly met Victor's lips. He hummed contently into the kiss.

At the question, he blinked, trying to get his mind to focus. "Uh... actually yeah." He blushed and nodded to his nightstand drawer. In his lust filled haze he had forgotten about a framed picture of Victor in there. He was 16 and in the blue outfit with the blue flower crown.

Victor quickly leaned off the bed, and opened the bedside drawer.  He routed around a bit to find it, not really paying attention to the other things in the drawer.  A framed picture of him when he was 16?  Seemed legit.  Really his mind was too focused on the task at hand to be worried about the other contents, or the implications that his lover had actually bothered to have one of his early photos framed.  A small note might have been taken, if he'd found any other sex toys in the drawer.

Eventually, he found the tube of lubricant, and withdrew it.  Unscrewing it as he took his position back between Yuuri's thighs.  As he squeezed the slick fluid onto his fingers, he gave a playful grin down to Yuuri.

"And just what was my solnste keeping this around for, hm?"

Yuuri gave him a look. "Really? I may be new to having sex, but I'm a guy in his mid-twenties with access to the internet. I'm inexperienced not dumb." He grinned.

Victor hummed as he gently touched his slick fingers just below Yuuri's balls, seeking out that tight ring of muscle. "I don't know, I think I would understand you having lotion, but I decidedly didn't know about lube until I started actually having sex. I think you're just a little bit deviant" Victor cooed affectionately.

Yuuri blushed, trying not to squirm as he felt Victor's fingers against him. "I... I needed it for..." He sighed. "I have a couple of toys, okay? And lube helps so..."

He didn't know why he was so embarrassed to be talking about this. There was nothing wrong with it. He just felt... so awkward about it.

"You do?" Victor asked genuinely surprised. He rubbed his fingers in gentle circles around the outside of Yuuri's anus, carefully testing its resistance and willingness to yield, coaxing it into relaxing for him. "Do you want me to use one of them on you?"

Yuuri whimpered softly, willing his muscles to relax for him. He shook his head at the question.

"No, at least not this time." He flushed. "I want just you now. Another time we can play with them." He smiled sheepishly.

Smiling softly down at him Victor cooed, "I'd like that."  He whispered, as he leaned down to place another kiss on Yuuir's lips.  As their lips touched, Victor let one of his well lubricated fingers slip into Yuuri's ass, Redding gently but firmly until the digit slipped past the tight ring of muscle.

As he kissed him back, his body reacted to Victor's finger, finally welcoming it inside. He moaned softly into the kiss, rolling his hips as he felt him.

 

He lightly scratched Victor's back, urging him to keep going. He wanted more. He wanted him but he knew his body needed to be properly prepared first.

It was, a little surprising how easily Victor was able to slip that finger in, and how much pleasure it brought to his lover - but then again, if Yuuri was used to using toys, then it was just a matter of finding out what he liked. Victor knew how to use his fingers to stimulate his partner, not just coating the entrance with lube, but curling his fingers and testing for sensitive spots. He added a scond finger, probing deeper to find Yuuri's prostate.

A loud moan escaped him, almost startling him. He ground his hips against him as Victor hit the sweet spot.

"There..." He panted out. If his fingers were bringing him this close, he couldn't imagine what it would be when his cock was inside him. "M-more... please Victor..."

"There?"  Victor purred, hitting the spot again, and then again, as he straightened his fingers out, memorizing the angle it took to stroke it.  He didn't really need Yuuri's confirmation, but hearing his moans was so delightful.

Yuuri moaned in response even though he could tell it wasn't necessary. He squirmed, grinding against his fingers. He nodded, his voice failing him.

Giving a soft chuckle, Victor began the last phase of his preparations, running his two fingers in circles against the inside rim of Yuuri's ass, to really gently stretch the muscle out, before finally withdrawing his fingers.

He opened the bottle of lube again, pouring the fluid directly on his cock, and then giving it a few good strokes to smear it across.

He pressed the head of his cock just outside Yuuri's entrance.  "Ready?"  He asked, in a low sultry tone, even as he was already leaning forward, beginning to press it in.

Yuuri nodded, but quickly reached for Victor's hand. He was nervous but oh so ready to feel what it was like to have Victor inside of him.

He moved against his tip, moaning softly.

Intertwining his fingers with Yuuri's, he held the other man's hand tight, while his other hand steadily guided his cock in.  Pressing the head was always the most difficult part, but the preparation hadn't gone to waist.  Soon, Victor could feel himself slip inside his lover, the tightness almost painful until he could push in further... and then, a wonderful heat that swallowed him whole.

"trakhat'sya, Yuuri..."  Victor hissed.  His other hand moved up, taking hold of Yuuri's far hand and interlocking those fingers as well.  He was pinning Yuuri down with their clasped hands, as he used his arms for support as he sank deeper and deeper inside.

He squeezed his hands tightly as he arched to meet him, moaning as he felt himself being filled. "Kami, Victor..."

 

Yuuri kept his eyes on the man above him, panting softly as he relaxed his body further as Victor went deeper.

Victor pushed in to the hilt, and paused, savoring the feeling of being so deeply inside of his lover. He let out a slow groan, giving Yuuri time to adjust to him.  Victor wasn't exceptionally thick, a detail that was both a blessing and a curse given his preferences, but he was hard and unyielding inside the other man.  His above average length however, meant he could reach deeper inside of Yuuri than anyone else, brushing against and past that spot he had memorized before.

He let out a tense groan... it felt so good, and his hips were aching to move... but he held his position, waiting for the cue from Yuuri to move.

Yuuri's breath hitched as he felt Victor's cock brush against that spot. His toes curled at the feeling. His hands tightened around Victor's as he moaned low.

Once the pain receded, he gave his hips and experimental roll.

Upon that first roll of Yuuri's hips, Victor's hips reflexively bucked and rolled, matching him.  But the older man got himself under control.  His breathing was heavy, and irregular.  He reached for one of Yuuri's legs, lifting it as he spread the other, Jack knifing Yuuri below him and positioning him so that he could more easily hit that spot that made Yuuri moan.

Then, only once he'd placed the other in position, Victor began a slow controlled roll of his hips.  He withdrew nearly completely from Yuuri, sliding his length until only the head was left in, and then steadily sliding all the way back in.  His focus was on Yuuri, putting his own pleasure out of his mind for the time being as he just singly focused on the man beneath him.

Yuuri panted as Victor moved. He wanted to watch, but as his hips bucked into him, Yuuri's eyes rolled back and he arched again.

He moaned as his leg was moved, allowing Victor to go even deeper. "Fuck... Victor, you feel soooo good..." He squeezed the hand he still held.

That brought a grin to Victor's face, but he was too concentrated to manage anything more but grunts and low groans as he focused on pleasuring Yuuri.  He began to move his hips at a steady pace, slowly driving into the man beneath him and building up speed.   As Yuuri arched his back, Victor had to let go of Yuuri's hand, if only so that he could grasp Yuuri's hips, steadying it at the angle he needed, supporting Yuuri's backside as he partially lifted Yuuri's ass up off the bed.

Yuuri fisted the sheets as he felt his ass get lifted. He sucked in a breath, trying not to be too loud, though he realized by this point it didn't really matter. He'd worry about those repercussions later.

He moved his hips best he could to meet Victor's thrusts. He brought a hand to his cock, stroking it as it became unbearable. A low moan escaped him as he squeezed the head of his erection.

"Does that feel good, Yuuri?"  Victor panted above him.  "Does it feel good to stroke your cock while you get fucked?"

 

Victor was pounding into him hard and fast now, grinding him down into the bed just as he had requested.  He was angling his thrusts from when where he had memorized it with his fingers, letting the head of his cock directly hit against that sweet spot inside and then let the shat stroke it as he rolled deeper in.

His response was a choked groan. He rolled his hips, thrusting his hips with his strokes. He could feel himself about to explode.

"V-Victor... I'm about to... nnn..." He cupped his balls as he stroked himself.

"Do it, Yuuri.  Cum for me.  Cum while I'm buried deep inside."  Victor urged him, burring himself as deeply as he could.

That was all he needed. He gasped his name loudly, his hips coming off the bed as he released onto his hand and stomach. He clenched around Victor's cock.

Victor clenched his teeth.  It was hard not to cum with that tight ring enveloping him, squeezing down on him.  Moreover, the look on Yuuri's face was beautiful, and sexy as hell when he came.  The sight of Yuuri cumming was almost too much, let alone the feeling of the younger man orgasming around his cock so hard and ready to burst.

But Victor held it in, pressing his cock against Yuuri's prostate while the other man came, wrenching every last drop of his orgasm out of him.

Yuuri panted hard as he rode out his release. He watched Victor through hazy eyes. He never thought the man could get more gorgeous, and yet here he was.

He milked him for all he could, relishing the feeling of him coming inside him. His body trembled.

Victor collapsed on top of Yuuri as he came down from his own climax.  His chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath, and sweat dripped from his brow.  His arms wrapped around Yuuri's chest, holding the other man close as he basked in the afterglow, his softening member, still inside him.

Yuuri panted as his arms wrapped around the man on top of him. He nuzzled him gently, his hands running along his back.

He shifted slightly, feeling Victor still inside him. He purred softly. "I love you so much..." He whispered.

Victor gently kissed Yuuri's forehead, still trying to catch his breath.  He'd given everything he had into pleasing the other man.  "I love you too."  He gently whispered.

He reached down between them, holding the base of his own cock as he carefully withdrew .... and then...  he noticed.

His expression suddenly crashed.  His eyes full of regret, he slowly looked up at his lover.  "Y-yuuri...."  And then he embraced him more tightly.  "I'm so sorry!  Promise me you won't grow up into an irresponsible adult like me!"

Yuuri squeaked in surprise at the embrace. "Wha... what? Victor I don't... what are you talking about?" He wracked his brain trying to figure out what he had done that was... irresponsible?

 

"And you're not THAT much older than me, you know?"

"I know, but I'm the one who's supposed to be taking care of you and I completely forgot." He looked up, his brows furrowed and his lips drawn in a thin line as he pleaded for forgiveness.

Yuuri looked at him like he was completely crazy. He thought back to what happened just before Victor's mood changed. He had pulled out of him, but why...

He closed his eyes, concentrating on what he felt. His lids popped open the second it hit him. "You... you forgot to use a..." He paled. "Oh.. um... are you... you don't have any... um..."

"No!  Of course not!"  Victor defended quickly.  "But you shouldn't just trust someone just because they say so!  We haven't gone to a clinic and been tested yet."  He rolled off to the side, getting his weight off of Yuuri, even if he didn't let go, dragging Yuuri along with him as he sighed.  "I was going to take us when I took you to Paris..."

Yuuri just tilted his head. When the hell had they planned to go to Paris? "I... I know that!" He pouted a little. It wasn't like he had ever let just anyone fuck him. He sighed, cuddling into his chest. "Tomorrow.  We are going to get checked out tomorrow."

He paused for a moment and then looked up at him. "And when were you planning a trip to Paris?"

"Mm?"  Victor hummed, accepting that Yuuri wasn't that angry about it.  The Paris trip seemed like such a foregone conclusion.  "After you win gold in Barcelona, remember?  We talked about it while we were in China."

Huh... yeah he remembered that being mentioned briefly, but that all depended on him winning gold at the Grand Prix Final. "Ah, right... but, Victor, aren't you jumping ahead here? The competition for gold is going to be super difficult... I may not even..."

He blanched, the previous year's fiasco coming back to him. Every misstep, every flubbed jump. His stomach and throat tightened. He didn't want to let Victor down, but could he even really compete with the other five skaters?

Victor gave him a little squeeze.

"I'm not jumping ahead.  You're going to win.  It's good that you're not taking it for granted, but you should know by now that you're certainly capable of earning gold."

He leaned in, whispering close.  "You're Japan's number one skater, and the only one in the world capable of catching my eye.  We just have to show everyone else what we already know."

He blushed brightly. While he didn't necessarily agree with being Japan's number one skater, though he technically was, it was the second part of that sentence that made his heart beat so fast. He had caught Victor's eye. He was the only one in the whole world that could.

He smiled softly and kissed him. "We will. We will show everyone."

That look in Yuuri's eye, that agreement, made Victor's heart bubble over.  He embraced his lover, nuzzling into him tenderly, just enjoying being in his arms for now.

Yuuri hummed softly, just enjoying being in his arms and holding this man in his. He lightly played with his hair, sweaty from their endeavor, but soft none the less. This was heaven.

The time that past in that state was countless.  It felt like forever or like no time at all.  And it was perfect.  Victor slowly kissed every single one of Yuuri's fingers, stroked his fingertips over every curve of Yuuri's arms.  He just wanted to familiarize himself with every hair on the back of Yuuri's hand.

But eventually... ... eventually hunger began to get the better of them.

"Mmm…  Yuuri, do you think your mother will mind if I go scramble around the kitchen and get us something to eat?"

Yuugi shook his head. "Nah, I don't think she'd mind at all." His stomach growled and he chuckled, blushing lightly. "Food might be a good idea. Though, that unfortunately means I have to let go of you."

Victor gave Yuuri another soft kiss.  "Do you want me to go get it for you?  You can just lay here and I'll bring you dinner in bed."

He smiled and nodded. "Sure, just make sure you hurry." He leaned in and kissed him again.

It was difficult separating himself from Yuuri.  He kept coming back for more kisses, sweet and sultry alike.  He put his clothing back on slowly, recovering it from where it had been discarded before.  Even as he left the room he blew Yuuri a little kiss.  "I'll see you soon~" He cooed, letting Makkachin in to cuddle with Yuuri while he was on his fetch mission.

Yuuri smiled, watching him as he left. He chuckled as Makkachin hopped on the bed. He wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in his soft fur.

"Mmmm... Makkachin, I am so glad you both are here. I... this is more than I could have ever dreamed of."

"Woof!"   Makkachin answered, wagging his tail behind him as he snuggled.

It actually took Victor a long time before he came back. ... like... A really long time.  Like.... a really really long time.  Like, Victor still hadn't actually come back and it had been well over half an hour.

Yuuri sighed and looked at his door. Victor had been gone an awfully long time. Long enough that Yuuri was starting to worry. With a groan, he sat up, a twinge of back shooting through his lower back.

He hissed softly, but swung his legs off the bed and grabbed his clothes. He got dressed slowly as to not irritate the mild pain he felt. He patted Makkachin on the head as he left the room, venturing down stairs to find his boyfriend.

Yuuri would find Victor downstairs in the family dining area, seated at the family dining table as a boisterous din surrounding the gathering. A plethora of photo albums were on the table, spread out in front of Victor as Hiroko pointed out images.  One hand on Victor's shoulder.

 

"And this was Yuuri at his 7th birthday.  I remember he got chocolate cake all over his favorite shirt and he cried for nearly a week because 'that's not how big boys behave'." Hiroko laughed.

"Wow!  Adorable!"  Victor cheered.

Mari was seated on the opposite side of the table, leaning away from them as she took a long drag on her cigarette.  Sake was set out in front of her and Victor, with the bottle closer to Mari.  Evidence suggested it had originally been Mari who had sat Victor down, and the moment had simply been usurped by Hiroko.

It was actually Mari who noticed Yuuri first.  "Oh, good morning sleeping beauty."

"Yuuri!"  Victor smiled spotting Yuuri.  "What are you doing up?  I haven't been gone that long, have I?"

Yuuri stood in the doorway in utter shock and horror. No... god no... they weren't... His face reddened to the point that it would match a tomato.

He looked from Mari to his mother to his... Victor. He shook his head. "No, it's been like... half an hour at least. I wasn't entirely sure what had happened."

"Yuuri.  Come join us," his mother called out.  "We were just showing Victor some of your Baby pictures."

Victor picked up a particularly embarrassing photo of six-year-old Yuuri.  "Yuuri!  Look at this one!  Look at how adorable you were!  Your cheeks have always been so cute and round!  They're just adorable I love it!"

Mari leaned back, grinning over her shoulder.  "I meant to just ask Victor about his intentions again... and this just sort of happened."

Yuuri glared at Mari as he sat beside her. "You could have stopped this..." he spoke in rapid Japanese. "What did I ever do to you?"

He sighed and looked at the picture Victor held. "Yeah... I mean, you know I've always gained weight easily. Definitely made life a living hell at times."

"Oh, look at this one Victor.  This is Yuuri at his school play.  He got so embarrassed and forgot his lines."  Hiroko directed Victor's attention back to the photo albums.

"So cute!"  He beamed, his eyes getting stars in them.  "What's he dressed as?!"  He laughed.

Mari just kept leaning back as she watched.  "You had to know this would happen eventually.  Besides.  I thought you were asleep."

"Mooooom! Don't show him those..." He whined, banging his head on the table. He turned and looked over at Mari.

"I was hoping I could avoid this... and no, he was supposed to be getting food while I rested."

"Oh Yuuri.  It's not like I'm showing him all the ones from the beach trip we took when you were three."  She laughed.

 

"Beach?  Three years old?"  Victor asked, keying in on the handful of words that he knew.

"Oh yes!  They're right here!"  She said, pulling out the designated photo album and flipping through the pages.  "We just couldn't keep his bathing suit on him and his father couldn't keep up."  She chuckled.

"You'd better do something."  Mari warned Yuuri as she reached for a cup of Sake.  "At this rate I think Mom's going to adopt him before you get a chance."

Yuuri practically leapt over the table to grab the album. "Noooo!" He quickly grabbed as many albums as he could, hugging them to his chest and panting. He muttered under his breath, "I wouldn't put it past her to already have..."

"Yuuri.  Don't be rude.  He wants to see these so let him see."  Hiroko chided him.

Victor just beamed from his position across the table, next to Yuuri's mother, not really minding either way.

Yuuri looked at his mother. "I'm not... I... mom, these are... they're embarrassing..." He figured Victor could follow even if he was speaking Japanese. "I already embarrass myself enough now, why do I have to show him everything from before now?"

He sighed and relented even before receiving an answer. He slid the stack back over to Victor, eyes trained on the table.

"Well you've already shown him everything yourself, haven't you?  What's the matter with showing him this?"

Yuuri looked up at his mother in shock. "What... what do you... huh?"

Even Mari blushed at that, her jaw dropping at her own mother's words.

Victor for his part... seemed to be mostly clueless about the exchange, Hiroko's Japanese flying too fast to sink in, but he picked up that she'd said something to startle her children.

"Ah...  Okasan."  Victor smiled at her, beaming.  "I was... getting Yuuri food."  He said slowly, his Japanese simple.  "He's hungry.  May I be excused?"

Hiroko smiled as she got up.  "Oh, I told him before, I left your dinners in the oven.  I'll be right back."

"I'll help, Okasan."  Victor cooed, following after her.

Yuuri watched the two head into the kitchen, jaw slacked still from his mother's statement. He slowly turned his head to Mari. "What just happened?"

"I...  I think you just got told..." Mari gaped, slowly turning her head to meet Yuuri herself.

"You know your mother isn't as oblivious as you seem to think."

Yuuri jumped and turned, seeing his dad behind him. "O-Oto-san..."

 

Toshio chuckled. "And you two weren't exactly quiet." He grinned as his son blushed even more. "She is just glad to see you happy and wants to make sure things work out. Don't feel too embarrassed, Son. That's what parents are for, and honestly... I think Victor enjoys learning more about you."

Yuuri smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah... yeah... he has always been insistent about getting to know more about me."

"So everything's worked out.  We're just one big happy family."  Mari mused, only partially sarcastically.

It was about then Victor emerged from the kitchen, his arms ladened with bowls of food for them both.  "Yuuri look!  Your mom made us a feast!"

Hiroko wasn't that far behind, bringing the other accoutrements for eating along with her.  "Mari, pick up the photos, will you?  I don't want anything spilling on them."

"Fine~" Mari groaned, leaning forward to start cleaning up.

Yuuri's eyes widened at the mass amounts of food he carried out. "Wow... she really did." He smiled at his mother. "Thank you, Oka-san..." He was thanking her for more than the food and he hoped it came through.

He glanced at the albums as he took some bowls, helping Victor. "You know, now that you've seen some of my baby pictures, it's only fair I get to see yours sometime." He grinned at him. "I bet you were adorable."

Victor just laughed as he started setting down bowls of food.  "You already had most of my younger photos up in your room."  He was setting himself up next to Yuuri this time.

Hiroko helped Victor set their table, giving quick looks at Yuuri and his question, disguised as a statement.  When she was done, she shooed her husband out the door along with her, pushing his shoulders gently and giving her kids some alone time.  Mari was making herself busy packing up the albums, and taking them back to where they were usually stored.

He chuckled as he grabbed a bowl with some rice. "No, no, I mean ones from before you started skating. I want to see the ones from before you were the skating legend."

"I'm guessing those would be back in Russia though, right?" He didn't want to add the 'with his parents' because in all honesty, Yuuri had no idea about them.

Victor touched his chopsticks to his lips, nibbling on them as he looked up above his head, trying to think.

"I think there are some pictures of me on the walls at <insert name of St. Petersburg Ice skating rink>.  They're just yearly photos though.  I guess I could have Yurio take a picture of them and then I'd show you."  he mused as he started picking at the food with his chopsticks.

Yuuri shook his head. "Those still count as skating pictures, Victor." He looked at him. "I am thinking more like the ones mom showed you. Beach trips, birthdays, just random pictures of you being a kid..."

 

He was trying to be subtle. Though the more he thought about it, Victor was anything but subtle.

"Oh."  Victor looked at Yuuri as he finally figured out what the other man was asking.  Then he smiled.

"I don't really have anything like that.  I'm sorry."

"Ah... well that's okay. My parents have always been obsessed with photo albums... I swear we must have stock in them or something..." He tried to ease the awkwardness, but he was even more curious now than ever.

"Hey Victor? Can... I ask why?"

Victor didn't seem phased.  Or if he was, he wasn't showing it.  He ate a bite of his meal casually.

"Hmm?  Oh.  Well you know.  There were always lots of kids skating for the national team.  The coaches didn't really have time to take photos and throw parties for all of us, and cameras weren't really a big thing until the 2000s in Russia.  Most of the adults spent most of the 90s thinking Communism was going to come back."

Okay, so Yuuri was starting to see why Victor associated everything in his life to the ice. It... that was all he had?

"Victor... how... where..." He didn't know how else to phrase. "When was the last time you saw your parents?"

Victor nibbled on his chopsticks again, trying to think of what the answer was.

"I think I was seven when they dropped me off?"

He looked at Yuuri.  Should he feel bad about this?  Yuuri was asking a lot of questions about it, he was asking like it was a delicate subject.  But Victor didn't actually feel bad about it.  It was just a fact.  It was the way things were.  ... was Yuuri okay with that answer?

That was... not what he had expected. And the way Victor was answering so nonchalantly was... off putting to Yuuri.

"Dropped off?"

Victor nodded.  "In St. Petersburg.  At the rink.   ... After I'd been recruited for the National team."

"But... but what about..." He groaned and held his head in his hands. "I'm so confused. You're telling me your parents dropped you off at the rink TWENTY YEARS AGO and you haven't seen them since?"

He just smiled.  "It's not like I haven't spoken to them at all.  They used to call every now and then.  But things were different when the Communists where in charge, and... some people just had a hard time letting go."

Yuuri didn't know what to say. He just sat there, looking at his chopsticks. He knew nothing about communism in Russia. Well, he did know kids were trained at an early age in sports like ballet and skating, but he didn't know that they were essentially removed from their homes for it.

 

He couldn't imagine leaving home so young. Not seeing his parents or Mari or Yuuko... No wonder his mother had said what she had about Victor.

Victor smiled.  It seemed like Yuuri didn't have any more questions.  So he reached over and patted the other man's Raven hair, and went back to eating, considering the conversation to essentially be done.

He glanced at Victor as he patted him. He felt so lost right now. "Are you... okay with all of that? I... I couldn't imagine not seeing my parents for so long. I went five years and that was rough. How... did you do it?"

There was another pause as Victor chewed on his chopsticks.  "When I first started, there were dormitories the skaters stayed in.  When the dormitories were shut down for condos I stayed with Yakov for a while..."  And then a smile. "And by then I was winning in competitions so I could afford my own apartment where the dormitories used to be."

He didn't answer the question about whether or not he was okay with it.  He hadn't really ever given much thought about if he was okay with it.  It was what it was.

Yuuri just nodded. He was feeling annoyed and slightly angry. The anger was directed at Victor per say, but the situation.

He ate a few more bites, but he honestly wasn't hungry anymore. He figured he'd talk with his mother later. Maybe she could help him understand a little better.

Victor wasn't sure what had upset Yuuri... but the food was too good not to woof down.  Once it seemed like Yuuri was finished with questions, Victor picked up his bowl and started eating.  After a while, he noticed Yuuri not eating his...

"Are you not hungry, Yuuri?"

He shook his head. "Nah, not really. You're welcome to whatever." He slid the bowl over to him.

The offer was tempting...  But he was certain Yuuri was going to be hungry later.

"I'll wrap it up and put it in the refrigerator for you."  He said, trying to be helpful.  "Do you want to head on to bed, Yuuri?  You look tired."

He nodded. "Uh... Yeah bed sounds good..." He glanced at the bowl. "I can put it up though. You don't have to." He tried to offer him a small smile.

"I don't mind."  He reached over, giving Yuuri's hand a squeeze.

He took his hand, holding it tight. His thumb lightly brushed at his skin. "I love you... and..." He looked at him. "You know that my family is yours now, right? They love you too and would do anything for you."

There was a second when Victor was taken aback, a surprised hesitation to the sudden showing of emotion from Yuuri.  And then he smiled, whispering to him softly.

"I know.  I love your family too.  They always make me feel at home."

There was a way Victor smiled with his eyes, when he really meant it, that was different from the simple, plastic smile he used when he was trying to gloss over things with pleasantries.  And when she spoke of Yuuri's family, it was his eyes that were smiling.

Yuuri smiled and softly kissed his knuckles. "Come on, let's go snuggle up in bed." He stood, helping grab the bowls.

Victor gladly agreed, and followed along with Yuuri.  They cleaned up the dishes together.  Although he was certain Yuuri would do it, Victor was picky about not leaving any dishes or mess behind for Hiroko to clean up.

Snuggling up with Yuuri was the most welcome thing imaginable.  Stripping down to his underwear to sleep, and snuggling up with Yuuri in bed, Victor had everything he wanted in life.  He had his lover, his dog, his family... his home.

... and to think.  Just ten months ago...

...

The embrace of sleep was pleasant, and warm.  Dreams were bright and the future was shining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment to let us know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9: Serious Talks

Chapter 9

Serious Talks

Yuuri was thankful that they were still taking a break before practicing for the Grand Prix Final. He was even more thankful that Victor had decided to take Makkachin to the beach for some exercise. The poodle had been getting spoiled by Yuuri's family after the steam bun incident and was getting a little pudgy.

He had opted to stay behind, telling Victor that he wanted to help his parents out a little since he rarely had the chance to. He really used it as an excuse to talk with his mother about his and Victor's conversation the night before.

Yuuri would find his mother in the kitchen, preparing meals for the guests for later that day.  At the moment, she wasn't actually cooking anything specific, merely chopping and preparing ingredients for potential orders later that evening.

He poked his head into the kitchen and smiled. "Hey Mom. Are you busy right now or can we talk?"

She turned her head when she saw her son, and waved him inside.  "Oh, Yuuri.  Of course not.  Come in, come in.  Here, you can help me with this while we talk."  She said, handing him a pile of scallions, cutting board and a knife.  This would give her time to sit and peel the ginger.

[He smiled and nodded, taking the knife. He carefully began to chop the scallions in front of him. "So... I talked with Victor last night about... what we discussed a little while back. I... he told me he... he hasn't seen his parents since he was seven. Since he was dropped off at the rink after being recruited for the Russian national team."

He sighed. "He said they used to call but I get the feeling he hasn't spoken to them in a long time. The big thing is that... it all seemed so... normal to him. The way he responded to my questions was so... matter of fact. I didn't know what to say to him."

Hiroko listened to him carefully while she got to work peeling the ginger.  Her brows were lowered and arced out as she frowned, hearing the news.

"... I was afraid it was something like that.  I'm a little relieved they weren't physically abusive - it's what I was afraid of from how he was acting.  That's still terrible... they just abandoned him."  She frowned and shook her head.

Yuuri stiffened a little. Just the thought of Victor being abused like that... it made him sick. Thankfully he didn't mention anything like that. He finished up with the scallions and turned towards his mother, leaning against the counter.

"I just can't imagine it. I always knew I was lucky with you and dad and Mari... but I guess I just didn't realize how much." He bit his lip. "I told him he was a part of this family... that we love him. I just hope he knows we would never abandon him like that."

Hiroko's expression softened.  She reached out to her son, her paring knife turned safely away but still in hand as he reached out to give him a hug.

"Oh Yuuri.  Of course, he can be part of this family."

"And I hope you know... We'd never abandon YOU like that.  Not ever!"  She hugged him a little bit more tightly.  "You’re my precious baby boy no matter how old you get and I'd never let you go."

Even as she said that, she pulled away, gripping her fist in anger.  "Oh.  But it makes me so angry!"  She turned to start chopping the ginger.  "It makes me want to find that woman who gave birth to him and just... Shake her!  What's wrong with her!  How could she just leave her baby like that."

He hugged her back. He already knew that but hearing it made him feel safe and loved. He took a small step back as she pulled away. The anger in her face made him fearful and oh so glad it wasn't directed at him.

He nodded. "I wouldn't mind seeing that..." He smiled a little. "You're the best mom, you know that?"

She just gave a soft little snort, her love of her son tempering her anger.

"Well it's just not normal."  She said, " Don't let him get away with thinking it's normal.  You understand?  Oh, and pass me the sesame oil, will you Yuuri?"

[He nodded and reached for the oil, handing it to her. "How do I do that though? I... I may have clammed up a little after hearing everything last night. I didn't know what to say."

While Yuuri got the sesame oil, Hiroko was getting the soy sauce.  She started mixing the ingredients together.

"Well, Yuuri.  How do you feel about it?"

“I think it's crap and kids shouldn't be taken from their homes to train for sports. And I hate that he seems to think it's normal. It's not. But in the end..." He sighed heavily. "What's done is done and there is no changing the past. I hope he knows that I want him to be part of this family for... ever... If he wants that, that is."

He blushed lightly, but he could tell his mother anything. "He doesn't have to be alone anymore..."

Her son's sentiments made Hiroko smile.

"I bet it would make him happy if you told him that, Yu-chan.  Even if he already knows.  He'd probably like to hear it."

She turned on the eye at a gentle heat, to simmer the concoction and let the flavors blend together.  "But more importantly, I think you need to make sure he knows it's okay for him to talk to you about it.  It has to be difficult for him.  He's probably used to having to act strong in front of other people."

Yuuri nodded. He could definitely see that being the case. He was the same way at times, mostly because he didn't want to be perceived as weak.

"I will. Promise." He smiled and gently hugged her.

Hiroko patted Yuuri's cheek.  "Then in that case I'll leave it to you, my sweet boy."

"Oh, can you head to the bar and bring me the Sake your father opened last night?  I think it would be better than using Mirin tonight."

Yuuri smiled and nodded. "Hai!" He ran off to grab the sake from the bar.

"Tadaima~" Victor cheered softly as he and Makkachin came back from their walk.  The dog was already inside when he decided to shake, spraying a big of sand across the entryway.  Victor laughed.  "You're late, Makka~" He laughed, getting the dog's leash off while he ran his hands over his soft paws, dislodging the last of the sand before he let the animal loose in the building.

Yuuri turned has he heard Victor's voice. He smiled and poked his head out of the room. "Okaeri!"

"Let me get this to mom and I'll be right back. Want something to eat or drink?"

"Something to drink would be good."  Victor hummed brightly as he started looking around.  "Where is the broom anyway?  I should clean this up before a guest notices it."

Yuuri chuckled and pointed to the closet near him. "It should be in there. I'll be right back and can help if you need."

He ran back to the kitchen, handing his mother the sake and grabbing some drinks for them. "Victor's home." He smiled.

"No time like the present."  She smiled back at him, taking the day old Sake from Yuuri.

Victor managed to get the broom from the closet, and was well on his way to sweeping up the sand Makkachin had tracked in.  If he were still behaving like a guest, he wouldn't have minded just leaving it.  But... ... the Katsuki family was treating him like family these days so...  He flexed his arm as he considered - It was on him to start pulling his weight too!

Yuuri smiled and nodded, kissing her cheek as he headed back into the dining room with their drinks. He set them down and went to the front to see how Victor was doing.

He smiled as he saw him with the broom. Chuckling, he couldn't help but think how domestic he looked. "Need some help? I take it Makka brought the beach back with him?"

"I thought I'd gotten all the sand off him before we came inside.  But I guess he adopted my love of surprises" Victor smiled, happily sweeping the sand into a pile.

"Mm... Should I just sweep it out the door?  Or would a dustpan be better."  He mused, mostly to himself.  As domestic as he might have looked, this wasn't exactly a task Victor was used to.

Yuuri chuckled and walked over, grabbing the dust pan. "This would probably be better." He knelt down, holding the pan for him.

Victor contently swept the sand and other dirt into the pan that Yuuri held for him, moving the broom carefully so he didn't sweep any dirt onto Yuuri himself.

"There we go. All taken care of~" he hummed happily as he turned to put the broom away.

Yuuri dumped the pan into the trash and put it away. He walked over and kissed Victor's cheek, taking his hand. "I put the drinks in the dining area."

He gently tugged him towards there. "How was your walk?"

"It was good."  Victor smiled, taking Yuuri's hand in his and following along behind the other man.   "Makkachin wanted to smell practically everything.  I think he's been cooped up a little too long."  He laughed.  "The beach might have been a bad idea with how excited he was.  I'm going to have to check him later to make sure he didn't get any sand in his stitches."

"Awww" He chuckled. " Poor pup. I'm sure he enjoyed spending time with you." He smiled and sat down at one of the tables, pulling Victor beside him.

"I helped mom prep for dinner. Not near as exciting but it was nice."

Sliding in beside Yuuri, Victor patted his lover's raven hair.  "You should have been resting.  Recovering from competition and traveling is important."  He leaned forward, and kissed Yuuri's forehead.

Yuuri smiled at the gesture. "I was. I didn't do anything strenuous and it is relaxing helping cook."

He leaned in and kissed him softly.

Victor hummed into the kiss, returning it softly.  It was nice to just relax with Yuuri, to just express himself opening.  His fingers gently rubbed against the back of Yuuri's hand, just loving him in every small little way.

When the kiss seemed to conclude, he reached forward for his drink.  Taking a sip for his semi parched throat.

He hummed and leaned against Victor, reaching for his own drink. He sipped it slowly, thinking.

"Hey Victor? I wanted to talk to you about something, well about what we talked about last night."

That surprised Victor a little bit.  A dark look crossed his face as he tried to down his drink to cover his discomfort.

"I honestly meant it when I told you I don't have any diseases, but you know I'm here on Visa and I'm not sure if my insurance will really cover a comprehensive test in here in Japan without any symptoms.  The public healthcare in France is really top notch, it was why I was thinking of going there in the first place..."

It took Yuuri a good minute to figure out what the heck he was talking about. "Wha... no, no, no! Not about that! God, no. Victor, I'm not worried about that at all."

"Oh."  Then Victor gave Yuuri a blank look.  "Then what was it you wanted to talk about?"

He literally face palmed. He was second guessing himself now. Maybe it wasn't that big of a deal? Despite what Yuuri thought, Victor didn't even seem to care about that part of their conversation last night.

"I, uh..." He glanced at the kitchen. He promised his mom he'd talk to him but now... he felt kind of silly bringing it up.  He sighed and shook his head. "It's nothing... never mind."

Victor couldn't help but laugh.  He leaned into Yuuri, and wrapped an arm around Yuuri's shoulder.

"Yuuri!  There's no need to feel embarrassed!  Whatever it is you can talk to me about it!"

He looked around, wondering if the setting was what was causing Yuuri to second guess himself.  "Do we need to go somewhere more private?"

He shook his head. "No, no, I..." He sighed and took a deep breath. "It's about the conversation we had about your parents and them 'dropping you off' for training."

He looked at him. "That's not normal. I don't care what country. Parents don't so that. But... What's done is done and I just need you to know that no one in this family would ever abandon you like that. Never. And... and I also want you to know that if you ever feel like talking about anything, anything at all, you can do that with me. You don't always have to be strong. We are equals in this relationship and I want to hold you up just as much as you do me."

Yeah, it was a lot to throw at the man, but if Yuuri didn't do it in one breath he would lose his nerve. "I love you, Victor, so much."

The speech stunned Victor.  And then... a flood of emotions all at once.  Too many to name.  Victor covered his face with his hand, looking down to hide whatever ugly expression was crossing it.

"Really... Yuuri.   There has to be a limit, to how much you can surprise me all at once..."

When his hand finally lowered, to glance across his own lips, the corners of his soft narrow lips were curled up in mirth.  The corners of his eyes watery as he tried to hold back a chuckle, but it did nothing to abate the adoration he had for the other. 

"I think we need something stronger to drink."  He said, gathering up his drink.  "Let’s go back up to my room.  I don't know how I'm going to react if I start talking, and I don't want to break down in front of everyone."

As soon as Victor covered his face, Yuuri panicked. He was about to burst into a string of apologies when Victor spoke. He had surprised him? In a bad way or...?

He was afraid to speak. He simply nodded and stood. He offered him a hand, hoping he would reject it because he was angry at Yuuri for bringing up things he'd rather not talk about.

But Victor was far from angry.  He took Yuuri's hand casually, just as he had a thousand other times.

"What alcohol do you think will be good to take?"  He asked, looking over the bar for something that wouldn't be missed too terribly.

"Um..." Yuuri looked over the bar. "How about that one? It's not too expensive and we tend to get plenty." He pointed to a bottle of vodka that sold decently but he also knew there were cases in storage.

"Perfect!"  Victor cheered, reaching over the bar to quickly grab it.  He had been debating on Vodka, but was uncertain if it had been more appropriate or if Sake was more fitting.  That he would be having Vodka, actually came as a small amount of relief.  He started to head up to his room, expecting Yuuri to follow.

As they started to go up the stairs, Makkachin heard the sound from where she had been following Mari around, and joined them.

Yuuri followed after him. He felt a little relief at his reaction to the vodka. The tension slightly easing. He glanced at Makkachin as he joined them.

It may have been lessening for Yuuri, but it was still building for Victor.  His hand tightened around Yuuri's.

When they were at Victor's room, Makkachin wandered in as soon as the door was open, and went to sit down on the bed.  Victor chose the couch, as he closed the door behind them, and then went about finding a glass to pour his Vodka with.

"Where do I start..."  Her murmured.

Yuuri sat on the bed with Makkachin, not wanting to crowd Victor. He shrugged. "Wherever you want. I'm here to listen."

Victor made a face when Yuuri sat over on the bed.  He patted his knee, gesturing for Yuuri to come to him.  "Don't sit so far away.  I'm about to spill my heart out to you, at least stay close to me."  He made a puppy face.

He smiled softly and got up, going to sit beside him. "I was going to but I didn't want to crowd." He nuzzled his shoulder.

"You can't crowd me, Yuuri. I wouldn't be satisfied even if we were sharing the same skin.  In fact, I think I might actually want you in my lap for this."  He said, not sure himself if he was joking or not.  His arm reached around Yuuri's shoulder pulling him close.

He blushed lightly, but shifted so he could sit in his lap. From the way Victor was acting, he knew this would make things even just a little easier. He kissed his cheek softly and wrapped his arms around him. "Best seat in the house."

That made Victor grin.  He threw his arms around Yuuri and rubbed his cheek into Yuuri's chest, nuzzling him intensely.  "I just love you so much!  You always know just the right thing to say to set my heart on fire! I'm never able to get enough of you!"

Yuuri chuckled and hugged him tight. "I'm glad cause I tend to feel like I say the exact wrong thing all the time."

"Of course not.  Everything you say is wonderful" Victor purred up to him, his chin still resting decidedly on Yuuri's chest as he looked up at the man in his lap.

He smiled, rubbing his back softly. "I'm glad you feel that way."

"Of course I do."  Victor hummed, leaning back against the back of the couch, his hands resting on Yuuri's hips.

"Now what was it?  Why did we come up here again?"  He looked down, closing his eyes as he thought back.  His thumbs rubbed against Yuuri's side.

"Oh!  Right!"  He remembered.

Victor looked up at Yuuri, his ice blue eyes meeting Yuuri's amber.  "I really love your Family.  And I really want to be a part of it.  But..."  He stroked Yuuri's side more demonstrably.  "This is how I want to fit into it.  I don't want you taking me in just because you feel like I don't have one."

Yuuri shook his head. "That isn't it at all. Even before you came here, my family knew of you because I was obsessed. But even now... my parents already see you as a son and Mari bickers with you as much as she does with me." He smiled softly.

Victor made a face.  "We don't bicker that much..."  He defended.

Yuuri chuckled and kissed his cheek. “True, true.”

"Alright."  Victor smiled, resting his head on the back cushions of the couch so he could better look up at Yuuri.  "Then if we that much understood between each other...  Is there anything else you want to know.  I want to be an open book for you.  I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"Hmm..." He thought for a moment. "What... was it like? To be thrown into ice skating and not have your family?"

Victor stroked idly at Yuuri's sides, smoothing his shirt down for him, while he tried to think of the answer.

"It was lonely at first."  He admitted.  "I got homesick right away."

"But, you know, everyone kept telling me how lucky I was.  I got selected out of all the children in Russia.  I remember on the drive over there they kept telling me how proud they were of me - of all the great dreams they had for me.  It was a lot to live up to, you know?"

"Back then, the older kids had all been /taken/ from their families, so...  there were plenty of people around who all knew what I was going through.  We were all there for each other, and it was good."

"But, you know... as things went on.  A lot of those kids ended up going back to their families.  Not all of them, of course.  But a lot of them.  The ones who didn't really want to be there.  Were just there because the Soviets said they had talent.  I always liked skating.  I think I was skating before I could run, so...  I never left, and my parents never came back for me so...   I don't know.  It just was the way it was."

He tilted his head off to the side.  "It wasn't like that for the younger kids... and that was strange. They all decided to be there because they wanted to be.  It didn't feel... ... fair, I guess."

"Did you... ever ask them why they didn't come back for you?"

Victor was quiet for a while, not looking directly at Yuuri.  His hands stayed firm on Yuuri's hips, not letting him go.

"No."  He finally answered.  "They were busy.  I think they were busy with my brothers and sisters a lot.  It was difficult for them to make it into St. Petersburg.  At least, that's why they couldn't come visit in the beginning.  By the time I started competing I didn't really mind that they weren't there.  I cared more about my coaches' approval than their anyway."

Yuuri stiffened slightly and looked at Victor in shock. "Your... you have... siblings?!"

Victor raised an eyebrow, surprised that this surprised Yuuri.  And then, he was all bright smiles as he explained.

"Of course!  Really Yuuri, why are you so surprised by that?  I never said I was an only child.

"Let’s see... I think it was... two brothers and three sisters.  I'm sorry if I'm getting it wrong.  Two of them were born after I left so I'm not completely sure on their genders."

"Well... no but you never mentioned them either..." He couldn't believe he never knew or even thought to ask if Victor had siblings.

"Have you never wanted to meet them?"

Victor's mouth drew into a long thin line.  His hands rubbed at Yuuri's sides a little bit more, taking comfort in the feeling of the other man.

"... I have.  But it would be weird, wouldn't it?  What would I even say to them?"

Yuuri leaned his head against Victor's. "I mean... it might be but I think if they are anything like you, they would love to meet their brother."

He nuzzled him softly. "Just tell them who you are. Though I would hope they know already." Yuuri would have figured his parents had told his siblings about him. However, Yuuri didn't have a very high opinion of them at the moment seeing as they essentially abandoned their child.

"I don't think I'd have the courage to do it on my own.  You'd have to come with me."  Victor hummed along.   Everything felt better when they put their heads together like this.  Yuuri really was his world.

He nodded. "Of course, I would." He kissed his temple softly. "Can't imagine there being more of you though." He chuckled.

Victor chuckled.  "Well I'd be surprised if they were all exactly like me."  He leaned up to return Yuuri's kiss.  "If they were, I'd no doubt have to fight them all off from falling head over heels in love with you."

He couldn't help but laugh. "I seriously doubt that." He smiled, hugging him tight. "I bet they are so proud of you though."

"Hmm..."  Victor hummed.  He hugged Yuuri a little tighter, hiding his face in the other man's chest.  "Actually...  the last time I talked to my older brother, he was angry at me for looking down on the rest of the family. I'm not sure exactly what I said that set him off, but..."

Yuuri frowned, rubbing his hand in soothing circles on his back. He wondered what had been said to make his brother think that. "I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding. That happens a lot. I bet it isn't as bad as you think."

"It was a long time ago..."  Victor said both in comfort and in dread.  He let out a heavy breath.  "Maybe it's just better letting it all go.  You know?"

Yuuri gently cupped his cheek looking at him. "What do you want? That's all that matters to me."

Victor closed his eyes.   What did he want?  One of his hands reached up and touched Yuuri's as he nuzzled into the hand on his cheek.

"...talking about my siblings...  always felt a little bit like looking at mannequins in a store window.  It was beautiful, and nice - and I'm well aware it's something I should want, but it's not really something I'm actually a part of.

"I think I'd feel like even more of a stranger trying to re-introduce myself to them.  They have their own lives and I have mine.  I think, what I really want."  He opened his eyes, looking up at Yuuri lovingly.  "Is my own family.  One that I make together with the one I love."

He smiled, blushing lightly. "I think that sounds really good." He leaned in to kiss him softly, "I just want you to be happy and I will do whatever I can to make that happen."

Victor breathed in, rubbing his hands against Yuuri's back as he savored the kiss.  "You make me happy, Yuuri.  Every little thing that you do."

His smiled widened. "You do the same for me." He hugged him tight, letting out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"Okay... so I'm curious. You mentioned coaches before. I guess I always figured Yakov was your coach. Were there others? How come you changed?"

"Well, I changed from coach Alexei when he retired ten years ago.  Yakov was his protégé so it's only natural I went with him when he took over the St. Petersburg school.   Yakov also thought it was important I round myself out and learn from as many people as possible, so I studied under Coach Tatiana for a little while too."

He gave a laugh.  "When I was nineteen I went through a little bit of a phase, and hired a Younger coach who I thought was going to be better for my image.  But he turned out to be terrible and I went back to Yakov right away."

Yuuri couldn't help but chuckle at them. He could totally see Victor doing that. "Quality over vanity huh?" He laughed. "Though I guess technically I traded in for a younger model too..." He grinned at him.

"I may be younger, but I'm still better quality.  You have to think of all the special attention I can give you with you being my only student."  Victor patted the small of Yuuri's back confidently.

"Uh huh... real special attention from what I've seen." He smirked, kissing him quickly. "But it's true, you've definitely pushed me this season and I've accomplished things I never thought I could." He smiled softly.

"Mm."  Victor nodded in agreement.  "And tomorrow I'm going to be pushing you again.  I want to improve your success rate on the flip before the week is out before deciding if we're going to keep it in the program for the final."

He nodded. In Yuuri's mind, there was no way he was going into the finals without it. Between Yurio and JJ... he needed it to even have a chance at gold.

He took Victor's hand, playing with his fingers. He had declared he was going to win a gold medal and prove his love on national television. He was so close but yet the medal still seemed far out of reach. He had to nail the flip. He had to show that Victor taking off the season wasn't for naught.

For now, Victor just watched Yuuri playing with his fingers, letting the younger man have his way.  He was relieved though.  He hadn't needed the Vodka in the end, and he felt even closer to Yuuri than before.

Mentioning that one coach though... it reminded Victor that he still had one more thing he should probably tell Yuuri about himself... ...one more big surprise....

Yuuri glanced at Victor and smiled softly. "Anything else on your mind?" He knew they had talked about a lot and he hoped he felt more at ease. He brought Victor's hand up and kissed his fingertips softly.

Thinking about that coach had caused a dark look to cross across Victor's face, but it brightened when Yuuri spoke.  Victor relaxed at the gesture, his mouth opening up into a full heart shape as his eyes seemed small.  "Just remembering something really embarrassing.  I don't want to spoil the mood."

Yuuri raised an eyebrow. "Embarrassing huh?" He smiled. "It's okay. If you want to talk about it go ahead and if not, well, I'm not going push." He nuzzled him gently. He really was curious now, but he didn't want to keep pushing.

Victor bit his lower lip.  Now that he was thinking about it... he was just doing the same thing, wasn't he?

"... Yuuri?  am I a bad coach?"

"Huh?!" He looked at him in surprise. Why would he ask that? Yuuri shook his head. "No. You aren't a bad coach at all. Why... would you think that?"

"Well..."  He began, giving a broad shrug of his shoulders that stretched all the way down to his toes.  He looked off to his bookshelf, where the offending object was stored.  "I came to you as a new inexperienced coach.  Taught you to skate your Eros.  And now you’re sitting in my lap speaking with me about my family issues.  Seems pretty sketchy if you look at it in a certain light."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I... I mean it's not... conventional, but..." Yeah okay this wasn't normal at all. He certainly would have never, EVER done this with Celestino. But Victor was... Victor. Sure, he tried to act all coach like, and sometimes it worked, but sometimes it was just too weird.

Another deep sigh was pushed from Victor's lips as he turned the idea over in his stomach.  "Maybe I'm just repeating history but..."

"Yuuri... it's really important to me that you know that I'd never hurt you.  I only want to see you become the best skater you can be."

"I... I know you wouldn't hurt me." His brow furrowed as he squeezed his hand gently. "Why do you say that you are repeating history?"

"That coach..."  Victor said.  He was finding it hard to look up at Yuuri, concentrating more on his stomach.  "Coach Oleg..."

His face was turning red as he was starting to talk about it.  "I wanted a new image."  Victor started, deciding to come at the topic from a different angle.  "I was nineteen.  Freshly legal.  I was used to people thinking about me sexually but they never said it out loud and... ...and I'd just sort of come to terms with my sexuality too and I wanted to flaunt it - and Yakov wouldn't have any of it.  He kept saying it was inappropriate and it wouldn't fit with my image so I hired Oleg who was all too eager about it."

"And.."  He flushed.  "Oleg turned out to be not such a nice guy."

Yuuri tensed slightly. He remembered Victor back then. He was... Yeah, he wasn't wrong when he said people sexualized him. While Yuuri hated to admit it, his 15-year-old self definitely enjoyed the way Victor looked, but he also loved him for more than that.

"What..." His throat felt incredibly dry now. "What did he do?"

Victor took his hand away from Yuuri, so he could touch his own lips as he debated in his head about what to do.

"Maybe it's best if I just show you."  He moved, starting to stand up, using his other arm to steady Yuuri as he lifted him up along with him.

Yuuri stood, but stayed close. He watched him curiously. He was feeling all sorts of protective with Victor right now.

Victor let Yuuri step down, and let go of him long enough while he moved over to his bookshelf.  He pushed a few books around from side to side, not entirely sure of the object's location.  But after a quick search, Victor produced a slim jewel case from between two of the books.  The case was labeled merely. "V.N. 19"

When Victor turned around... he hesitated for a moment, before offering the disk to Yuuri.

"Oleg wanted to make a video."  Victor explained.  "He said we could sell it to my fans and make lots of money.  In theory, it wasn't a bad idea.  I just... " His face flushed.  "Didn't know what kind of 'video' he meant."

It took Yuuri all of a second to realize just what he was looking at. His eyes shifted from Victor's to the disc and back.

"That... are you telling me that you... made a..."

He took the disc with a shaky hand. He felt sick for a myriad of reasons. "But once you found out you did it anyway?"

Victor looked away.  He crossed his arms in front of himself, hiding his hands in the security of his arms.  "Sort of..."

Yuuri looked at him, taking note of his stance. He was protecting himself. He liked at the disc again, deciding then and there how he felt.

He placed the disc back on the shelf and pulled Victor into his arms. "This changes nothing in my mind. I still love you and I still trust you."

He pulled back slightly to look at him. "But I have to know... did he hurt you?"

Relief wasn't a big enough word to describe how Victor felt at that moment.  He managed to unfold his arms, and slide them back around Yuuri's side.  With the disc set down he was breathing easier.

But there was that question in the air...

The silence lasted too long for the answer to be 'No', but Victor couldn't just give the easy answer either.  He pulled away.  Trying to come at it from a different angle again.

"I went to Yakov right after the filming.  He went and got all the copies destroyed from the production company.  There's just that copy left… in case I wanted to go to the police."

He waved it away, putting on a big smile.  "I've really never shown it to anything.  And the first half is just skating.  They're really embarrassing routines."  he laughed, trying to cover up what he'd just said.

Yuuri shook his head, burying his face in his neck, hugging him tight. "Don't laugh it off... please..." He placed a soft kiss on his neck.

"I have even more respect for Yakov. I'm glad he was there for you."

Victor did as Yuuri requested, going silent for a second as he returned the hug.

"He's always been there for me.  Even before he was my coach."

"I'm glad..." He didn't move, just wanting to hug him a little longer. "In answer to what you asked earlier... you are nothing like him." He was referring to the ass hole behind the video.

"You've never asked anything of me that I wasn't willing to do. You've brought out the best in me. The fact that we are together is just something that happened naturally. Nothing was forced."

Another breath of relief surfaced, as Victor buried his face in Yuuri's hair.  He reached up to run his fingers through the coarse Raven strands. 

"I'm glad.  I'm really... really Glad, Yuuri."

Victor may have been slightly shaken by where the conversation had gone.  Maybe a little.  But he was taking comfort in Yuuri.

Yuuri just held him. He knew this was most likely emotional draining for the man. He wanted to be strong for him and let him lean on him for however long he needed.

It took a while, But Victor finally pulled away.  "Alright."  Victor said, swallowing his feelings down in a gulp.  "Alright."

He started to wander back over to the couch, and maybe the vodka.  "Is there any other ancient history you want to know?"

Yuuri followed him back to the couch and sat. He shook his head. "No..." He looked at him and shrugged a little. "Is there anything you want to know about me?" He smiled a little. "Only seems fair."

He just wanted to make things easier and if that meant embarrassing stories about himself... so be it.

Victor had sat down right next to Yuuri, and was leaning over to the small table where he had set the vodka, pouring himself a small amount into the glass - when he heard Yuuri's question.

His eyes lit up, completely shifting gears from the weighty conversation they had been on.

"Yes! Everything!"  He began as he turned to Yuuri, pulling one leg up on the couch so he could face him completely.  "What were the names of all the schools you went to.  Who was your best friend?  What was that hideous thing you were wearing in that picture your mother showed me."

He sweat dropped as Victor started in on the questions. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he sat back, tangling his legs with Victor's.

"Um... okay so best friend, that is easy. Yuuko-chan. I... " He laughed. "I honestly don't remember the names. I just went wherever mom and dad enrolled me." He made a face at the mention of the picture. "It was sweater my grandma made... It was pretty hideous, but I was young and didn't have much say in my wardrobe choices."

"Grandparents?"  Victor asked.  "Ah!  What about your Grandparents Yuuri?  Are any of them still alive?"

Yuuri shook his head. "Sadly no. They passed away before I was born. The only one left when I came along was my dad's mom. But she passed away when I was 8. Both of my parents' parents had them later in life so they were much older when grandkids came along."

"Oh.  That's too bad."  Victor hummed.  "I'm glad you at least got to know one of them for a little while.  What about Aunts, and Uncles.  Any cousins?"

He opened his mouth then closed it, thinking. "Yes, but... I couldn't tell you the last time we saw them. My dad has an older sister and I think she has a couple of kids. I think one is a year older than me and the other is a year younger than Mari."

"Oh?"  Victor paused, thinking about it.  "How old is Mari then?"

"You tell her I told you this and I will make sure she kills you after she's done burying my body... but she is 30."

A smirk crossed Victor's face, he couldn't help but laugh a little "Really?!  So old!  I had no idea!  I thought I was older than her."

He chuckled "Don't let her hear you say that. She really might kill you."

"Can I start calling her 'Onee-chan'?  "He grinned, letting a big goofy grin cross his face.

He laughed and nodded. "Please do!"

"Alright!  Onee chan it is!"  he cheered.  "Oh, What else. what else."

Suddenly he thought of a good one.  A smirk crossed Victor's lips as he asked the daunting question.  "How old were you when you finally stopped wetting the bed?"

Yuuri jumped and looked at him in shock. "What?! Why the hell would you ask that one?" His face was beat red.

"I... I don't..." He sighed and thought about it for a minute. "I think I was... 4."

Victor chuckled, laughing to himself, all too pleased by the question.  "You said I could ask anything no matter how embarrassing."

"But okay. A little bit less embarrassing this time.  What did you Study at University?"

Yuuri shook his head. He had said that, hadn't he. He smiled at him. "Fair enough."

He was a little surprised but that question. "Actually, I did a dual major. I studied physical education and business. I thought they would be useful in my life."

"Oh.  That does seem like a good decision."  Victor pondered, giving the issue some thought.  Is that why it took you so long to graduate?"

Yuuri nodded. "Yeah, I honestly didn't tell anyone that's what I was doing. They just assumed it took so long because of skating."

"Yuuri, You're so smart and such a hard worker."

"-Ah.  But that's my next question.  How did you actually do it?  I noticed you have your diplomas listed from a Japanese University, but you were living in Detroit.  Where were you actually going to school?"

"It was complicated so I enrolled in a university here, but I took classes at the campus in Detroit. It was a special transfer type situation."

Victor nodded as he listened.  "It must have been difficult." he hummed.

He shrugged. "At times, it could be, especially with travelling for competitions. But I managed to make it work." He blushed lightly, not thinking it a big deal.

"Alright.  One more question for the time being."  Victor said.

He pointed back to the disk left behind on the shelf.  "Can I put that away now or do you actually want to watch it?"

Yuuri looked back at what he was pointing to. "Ah..." He turned back and smiled. "Yes, on one condition. I don't care to see the sex stuff because as far as I'm concerned that's private. But the skating... I want you to skate for me one day. You get to pick whatever you want to skate, but I want it to be something you have fun with. Deal?"

"One day?  I skate for you practically Every day."  He said, leaning forward and giving Yuuri a soft kiss on his lips, before getting up.  Quickly crossing the room, he picked up the jewel case, and slid it back between his least two favorite books, tucking it neatly away where it could be forgotten again.

He kissed him back, humming softly.  He chuckled and turned towards him. "I don't mean skating with me during practice. I mean, I want to see you perform something."

"You want to see me perform?"  He asked idly, padding his way back to where Yuuri was seated, and curling up next to him affectionately.  "Hm... alright.  I think I have something in mind."  He said, pressing a finger to his lips as he thought, a soft smile crossing his face.

Yuuri smiled and cuddled close, wrapping his arms around him. "I can't wait." He nuzzled him gently as he rested his head on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Victor... for telling me all of that. I know it was difficult, but... thank you."

"I told you before.  You’re the first person I want to open up to.  I just needed time to be ready."  He rested his head on Yuuri's, letting one of his hands trail along Yuuri's arm, until he could find Yuuri's hand and intertwine their fingers.  "Thank you for holding me up."

He smiled, holding his hand. "Any time. I will always be here for you, no matter what."

It was about this time, that Makkachin got tired of resting over on the bed.  He hopped down, crossed the short distance, and hopped up on Yuuri's lap.  Victor just chuckled, giving the arm around Yuuri's shoulder a soft squeeze.

"I know.  Ah, I just hope I didn't share too much."  He chuckled softly.  "We came up here to talk about my parents and we ended up talking about everything else instead."

He smiled and petted Makkachin as he hopped up in his lap. He leaned into Victor's embrace, humming softly.

Shaking his head, he spoke, "No, I'm glad we talked about what we did. I got to learn more about you."

"I told you.  I want to be an open book for you."  He said while rubbing the outside of Yuuri's arm. 

"But I'm holding onto that right to ask you whatever I feel like from now on.  No matter how embarrassing~"

He laughed, shaking his head. "Fine, fine, that goes both ways." He grinned at him.

He cuddled into Victor and closed his eyes. Having him and Makkachin like this... he loved it so much. He thought back to what Victor said about making his own family with one he loved. While he didn't really know what his future would be like past the Grand Prix final, he wanted to hope that maybe the three of them could be that family he mentioned.

"I've already proven that I'll tell you everything.  You're the one who's going to have to live up to my demands."  He chuckled, making a move to tickle Yuuri's sides a little.

"Heeey!" He laughed, squirming as Victor tickled him. "Okay! Okay!"

Victor laughed along with him, but gave up on his assault, settling instead to hug Yuuri closer.

"So, what do you want to do with the rest of the day? Hm?"

"Hmmm..." He relaxed against him, slowing his breathing down from laughing. "This sounds good." He smiled. "Just cuddling and well, resting. Cause my coach said I should be resting." He grinned.

Victor smiled, leaning back onto the arm of the couch a little bit, and dragging Yuuri and Makkachin both along with him.

"Hm.  and We don't want to go against your coach's orders.  I hear he can be quite stern when he wants to be. - Do you mind if I read while you relax?"  He asked, even as he was already reaching under the couch to where he had a paperback stowed.

Wrapping his arms around Yuuri's shoulders and Makkachin's head, Victor also tucked his feet under the poodle's warm body, thoroughly entangling all three of them together with one another as he opened his book to where he had left the page dog eared.  The moment was so perfect, so warm and content, it almost seemed a shame to let his mind drift off into the French passages printed before him, but then again, that was part of what made it all so perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave us comments to let us know what you think!


	10. Chapter 10: Downtime

Chapter 10

Downtime

Yuuri and Victor were lounging on Victor’s couch one evening after dinner and time in the onsen. Yuuri was typing away on his laptop while Victor was on his phone, earbuds in his ears. Without any preamble, Victor took one bud out and reached over, putting it into Yuuri’s ear and plays yet another song for him. This had been going on since they had gotten settled on the couch.

[Song 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz-ojV0GyY4)

Yuuri chuckled as he feels the earbud in his ear again. "Very pretty."

"I'm not so sure I like it."  Victor said, musing idly as he continued to flip through his phone, screen after screen of musical score.  "I really want to go with Stravinsky or Tchaikovsky but I also want something with actual singing and not just instrumental."  He rubbed his fingers over his chapped lips as he continued to look.

"What do you think?"

"Hmmm well if you pick any with lyrics, shouldn't they go with the theme? What theme are you thinking about?"

It seemed like a light went off in Victor's head.  "Oh.  I hadn't really thought that far ahead yet."

"That's sort of the brilliance of these composers, really.  Depending on which piece you choose, you could essentially build your theme around whatever portion of the piece is speaking to you the most."

"The first piece was nice, and I was thinking it had a sort of 'family' theme to it.  It's what Tchaikovsky wrote for his homecoming after he'd been away for several years..."

"But Stravinsky just has more vibrancy and joy to his works usually, so you get a lot of the same effect but with better presentation - And that's what eventually got me around to the nightingale... Falling in love with something surreal and beautiful and then attaining it..."

"I'm also thinking of maybe using some more Japanese themed influences but to be perfectly honest I'm not sure where to start looking for that."

Yuuri blushed as he listened to what Victor was thinking about the music. "Hmm..." He did a quick search online and found this one. "This is kind of upbeat"

[Song 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysyrIloU8Hg)

Victor listened for a little while, a slight frown crossing his lips as he listened.

"I don't know that I could make you skate to something like this.  Maybe something not quite so traditional... but a Japanese composer.  Isn't Yoko Kano supposed to be really good?"  He started tapping at his phone, trying to find it.

By then Victor started searching through songs.  He seemed to pause and listen, settling in for a little bit.  After a while... he began to cringe... saying out loud.  "I'm sorry, Michio Miyagi... but we can't use your work..."

Yuuri chuckled, typing to Pitchit as he listened to Victor arguing with the music.

Victor went through a few more things. A look of panic beginning to surface on his features as he flipped through a few selections more hurriedly.  And then, a look of enlightenment crossed.  He relaxed, resting his head against Yuuri's shoulders... 

And then a smile. 

"This is better."  He said, putting the headphone back in Yuuri's ear.

[Song 3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipgvfoAXxso)

Yuuri rested his head against his and smiled. "Yeah I like this one."

"That could work..."  Victor hummed softly, tapping his fingers against his lips.  He then seemed to abandon searching through songs as he flopped his arms out from his body haphazardly.  "I still don't know.  How do you feel about it?  I almost think we're better off looking for something with English lyrics.  But if we do that avoiding the landmine of pop music is even more difficult."

"What we? Who is skating to this exactly?"

Victor looked absolutely puzzled at Yuuri's curiosity.  "Well you are, of course.  Who else would be skating to something we put together?"

He looked at him in surprise. "Why...? I mean, when would I skate to this?"

"I don't know.  Next year maybe."  Victor offered.  And then he tried to give a comforting chuckle.  "Don’t worry, I'm not committing to anything, I'm just trying to get a feel for what we'd like.  We still have to perfect this year before we move on to next.  I'm just putting ideas together is all."

Yuuri just nodded. He really hadn't put thought into the future of his career past the Grand Prix FInals. Honestly, he tried not to think about anything past the next few weeks here in Hasetsu... with Victor.

"So, tell me.  What do you like?"  Victor asked, resting his head against Yuuri as he started going through music again.  "I was going to see if I could figure out what you liked based off your previous routines, but knowing that your coaches always just chose your music makes it a little bit more difficult."

Yuuri sat back, thinking. "Hmm... well I like a lot of the classical music that you played earlier. That's usually what I tend to lean towards. I tend to go with instrumentals more than lyrical music."

He sighed softly. "I mean, I never wanted anything flashy and loud because I guess I tried to blend in and not stand out..."

"Yuuri."  Victor blinked at him.  "You have to stand out!"  He flopped over, onto his stomach so he could press his lips against Yuuri's ear.  "You're the only one out on the Ice, you need to impress the Judges and the Audience that even alone you stand out.  More beautiful than anybody.  Stronger than anybody. Better than anybody they've ever seen."

He chuckled, his breath tickling. "And since the storm that is you waltzed into my life, I have been embracing that philosophy more and more. I'm just telling you what I used to do."

Content with this answer, Victor hummed into Yuuri's ear, nuzzling against him and then adding a slight nibble onto his ear.

"Okay!  So let’s go with something more classical!"  He cheered, getting up on his knees to pump his fist into the air in Victory before flopping back down on his back again.  "Honestly, I don't really like having you skate to that traditional stuff.  Feels like we're playing up on the Japanese angle too hard which may strike the judges as pandering.  Oh!  It's hard to go wrong with Roussel~” Victor hummed as he started pulling up a few songs of the French composer.

[Song 4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktjJdsM1I8c)

Almost completely randomly, as the music played... Victor's eyes went wide.

"Yuuri.   What Musical instrument do you think you are?"

"Okay, well I'm pretty sure if you are still my coach, Russian and Japanese would be out." He tilted his head, trying to bite back a moan as he nibbled his ear.

He blinked in surprise and thought for a moment. "Um... I... maybe... a.... violin?"

Victors gaze melted as a blissfully happy grin crossed his face.  "That's what I thought you'd be too!"  He cheered, so pleased with Yuuri's answer.

"I thought for a moment maybe a flute... but no, You're right.  A violin is much better.  You're definitely the lead voice, but the way the music emanates from your very being... so much more like a string than a woodwind."

He blushed at the description. He smiled softly and cuddled into him. "What about you? Which instrument are you?"

"Oh.  I'm a Bassoon."  Victor said, as if it was obvious.

He looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "A... bassoon? Why do you think that?"

"Because I'm rare, and exotic~" He purred, moving his arms to pose dramatically for his boyfriend.  "I always get the most memorable solos and only the very best can play me."

Yuuri bit his lip, trying not to snicker, but failed miserably. "O-okay... I'll... give you that one."

Victor gave a bit of a chuckle.  "But maybe an oboe.  I don't know.  It seems like those are always the solos that speak to me best."

Yuuri nodded. "Both are beautiful instruments, I will give you that. And you are correct, only the best can truly master them. I've heard a fair share of good and terrible players."

"Really?"  Victor gave him a light-hearted chuckle as he made a face.  "Where have you heard any bad ones?  Don't most give up before anyone can really hear them?"

He shook his head. "In college Ii would hang around the music building and I would hear people practicing. It was actually a good way to unwind and get away. But I heard people and sometimes they weren't... that... great..."

Victor laughed.  "Well I hope you didn't judge them too harshly.  Everyone needs time to practice to get good."  He leaned over, giving Yuuri a kiss on the cheek.

"I know that!" He pouted. "Every art is like that."

Victor chuckled at how flustered Yuuri got.  "Especially ours."  He smiled back.

He smiled and nodded. "Definitely."  He leaned in, kissing him softly.

 

Early morning, before the two of them could head off to the Ice castle  Yuuri's mom beckoned to Yuuri from the hallways that led to the hot springs.

"Yuuri.  Come here."  She called out softly, not wanting to wake any of the guests still slumbering in their rooms.

Yuuri nodded and stood. He had just finished breakfast. He hurried over to where she was waiting. "Yes, mom?"

She moved a little bit further into the hallway, so that Victor was out of sight while he finished his breakfast.  "Did you talk with Vic-chan?"  She asked softly, unable to keep her nose out of the situation any longer.  "What did he say?"

Yuuri nodded, moving to lean against the wall. "I did..." He sighed. "He knows how things went with him wasn't normal, at least it's not how things are done now. Honestly, I... I really hate how his parents handled things. They never even tried to come for him and they didn't even go see him compete. He told me about his siblings, which I had no idea. Apparently, there were a couple born after he had left that he has never met."

He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "We talked a while and while I think he wouldn't mind meeting them one day, at this point he really doesn't considering them family. He said he wants to make his own with those he loves."

Hiroko was leaning forward, listening intently to Yuuri's summary of the conversation.  The mention of siblings seemed to break her heart, just a little, but when Yuuri mentioned Victor's plans to make a family, she seemed relieved.

She leaned forward and gave Yuuri a hug.

"Thank goodness!"  She said, letting her relief out.  "it sounds like he managed to be okay despite everything."

He returned the hug, nodding. "Yeah... I... hope. I mean, I know there is probably a lot more to learn about him, but that is the whole point of relationships, right? To constantly be surprised and learning new things. I'm just... glad he trusts me enough to talk to me about things."

Yuuri buried his face in his shoulder. Yes, he had left out the stuff with the disc, but that wasn't something to be shared with anyone else.

She gave a soft chuckle and patted Yuuri's head.  "I'm still learning things about your father, and we've been married for thirty-two years!"  She assured him, and gave his cheek a pat.  "You just remember to take care of him, and let him take care of you too."

He smiled and nodded. "I will."

He glanced back towards the dining room. "I should probably get ready to head to practice. I know Victor is going to be hitting the training hard until the Finals."

"Okay."   She pulled away, and started fiddling with the washcloth in her hands as she turned back toward the front desk.  "You two have fun.  I'm sorry for sticking my nose in.  I was just so worried."  She chuckled.

Yuuri shook his head and gave her a quick hug. "Don't be sorry. I'm glad you did." He kissed her cheek. "You're the best mom and I'm sure Victor would say the same."

She laughed.  "I'm sure he would - and probably not even realize it.  We really need to teach him better Japanese."

He laughed and nodded. "I'll work on it with him." He smiled and turned to head back towards where Victor was.

Hiroko turned to get back to the front desk, cleaning it up before her husband messed it up during the day.

Victor had finished his breakfast and was already clearing both his and Yuuri's dishes.  He smiled, seeing his lover return.  "Everything ok?"  He asked.

Yuuri smiled and nodded, rushing over to help. "Yeah, mom just wanted to talk to me for a second." He kissed Victor's cheek.

Victor responded, kissing Yuuri's forehead in return, and then moving to take their dishes into the kitchen.  "Let’s hurry on to the Rink.  We've got a lot of work to do today."

He nodded. "Hai! Let me run up and grab my bag and I'll be ready to go," He turned and ran upstairs, petting Makkachin who was still on Yuuri's bed as he grabbed his bag. "Be a good boy, Makkachin!"

He ran back down to meet Victor.

___

Victor already had his bag down with him while they'd been eating breakfast.  They followed their daily routine, with Victor bicycling at a leisurely pace, while Yuuri kept up behind running.  Victor was very particular about how Yuuri stretched and how he laced up his skates.  Once they were on the ice Victor was unforgiving regarding every little detail.

"No, Yuuri.  Take your breath on this step.  You need to be exhaling during this part of the maneuver."

"Your too early on the entry right here. Slow yourself down with a deeper breath."

"Have you been going in on the wrong side of your foot this entire time?  Your weight should be right here. right here, Yuuri.  On this part of the blade."

"That's good.  Yuuri.  Good.  Now let’s do it again so your muscles memorize it the right way."

((Training montage))

Yuuri bent over, hands on his knees for supporting. He was breathing hard, but he wasn't too tired yet. He knew Victor was being picky because at this point, that is what would make or break it in the finals.

While the success rate of the flip was still mediocre, he felt like his programs were becoming more refined. Every time he did them, he was making sure to fix every minute detail Victor had mentioned.

He skated over to the side to grab his water bottle for a quick sip.

"Yuuri...  Stay there for a second.  There's something I want to show you." Victor said, moving himself out to a better position on the ice.

He turned, bottle in hand as he leaned against the barrier. His eyes were trained on Victor as he moved. His eyebrows were raised in confusion. What was he doing?

Without further explanation, Victor took a pose on the ice.

There wasn't any music playing, just the sound of Victor's blades slicing against the ice. - but the music was in his head, well known and experienced.  Victor quickly spiraled out, a gleeful innocent series of moves that started from the center of the rink and spiraled out wider, getting bolder as he moved, integrating small jumps, working larger and larger - until at last he was sailing through, gliding across the rink with ease and alternating between moving backward and forward without the slightest moment of hesitation.  It was a joyful dance, full of love and light - and then just as quickly on the ice it turned, a playful look of seduction crossed victor's lips after a particularly poignant spin, and the greater movement reversed.  The jumps were getting bigger, and the overall movement transforming in a counter clockwise spiral around the rink that tightened further.

The piece looked like it was missing something, a counterfoil to Victor's movements.  As he narrowed in on the center of the rink again, it was almost certain that Victor was mimicking out only half of a couples skate, replacing lifts with jumps, dips with... elegant bows and leg lifts that almost seemed to defy physics.

The climax of the piece was building, almost a fervent pace.  A quad flip, a single leg lifted spin than went low, and ended with Victor on the ground, chest open and exposed a position similar to one of Chris's finishing poses, and his arm was extended to Yuuri' looking over at him from where he had finished on the ice.  He would have looked utterly defeated if he weren't... smiling so broadly, chest heaving so heavily from the effort.

Yuuri watched in fascination as Victor moved. He slowly sat his bottle down, eyes never leaving the man. It was just like every time Yuuri had ever watched him on television. He was so immersed in the performance. He could hear the music, feel the story being told.

He could see that there was something missing, almost like another half. He wondered if this could be a... pair skating routine? He had never known Victor to pair skate with anyone. Yuuri almost wished he knew it so he could join.

He audibly gasped at the quad flip. Victor's signature move and he made it look so freaking easy. Yuuri wasn't bad at it but it still took so much effort on his part. He was envious, but at the same time awed by its beauty. It sent a thrill of excitement through him at the thought of performing it in competition with the world, and most importantly Victor watching.

As Victor finished the routine, Yuuri flushed. That pose definitely reminded him of Chris. He couldn't help but match the wide smile he wore. Yuuri felt a tear slip down his cheek. He quickly brushed it away. He was always emotional watching Victor perform, but this time... this time it had been for Yuuri and he felt like his heart was about to burst.

"The abduction of Persephone" Victor announce proudly.  He collapsed on the ice, revealing just how much strain he had been putting on his legs and torso holding the position. He rolled over and got up while continuing to babble, having not yet heard anything from Yuuri, "I never actually got to perform it for competition," he laughed. "Yakov told me I was too old and to cut my hair and start skating lie a man, so I did. But I always liked it".

Once he was on his feet he skated over to Yuuri "but I'm glad it's out of my system now. Performed for an audience of one".

It was then he was close enough to see Yuuri's face. His own expression faltered. "What's wrong? Was it not good?"

Yuuri shook his head and wrapped his arms around his waist, hugging him tight. "It was absolutely amazing."

He pulled back slightly and look at him. "You were stunning, Victor. It was just... I loved it so much."

He was about to lean in and kiss him when he tensed, looking around. "The triplets better not be around... all of this will end up on the Internet..." He muttered.

Victor smiled, hugging him tightly, eager and pleased by Yuuri's praise.  But when the triplets were mentioned, he looked around, trying to spot them.

The triplets ducked their collective heads down.

Yuuri growled softly. "Girls! None of this better be uploaded!"

"It won't!!"  They shouted out as they scurried away to wherever their mother was keeping occupied.

Victor just laughed as they ran off.   "They're so quiet, like little mice."

He chuckled. "Scary quiet." He hummed, pressing close, enjoying just a quiet moment. "Thank you by the way. I loved your performance."

Victor hummed in response, getting a whiff of Yuuri's hair. "You said you wanted to see something like that... I just hope that this was enough. I'll happily skate for you every day if that's what you want."

He pulled away, ending the embrace. "But for now, we work on you. You've had enough of a break. We're starting over from the beginning. Show me your Eros, Yuuri."

Yuuri nodded. "It was, though I will never get tired of watching you skate." He smiled and pulled him close, kissing him quickly. "Don't take your eyes off me."

With that, he skated towards the center of the rink, striking his opening pose.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let us know what you though about the chapter in the comments!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading the first chapter of our role play! We will try to update every few days, just depends on how quickly I can edit our backlog. We would love to hear what you think!


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